ADL celebrates Berlin contract win

Alexander Dennis (ADL) has won a contract with Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) to build a new fleet of double deckers for the German capital.

The manufacturer is to supply the operator with its 13.8m Enviro500 tri-axle double-deckers. The buses are to feature three doors, two staircases and 80 seats. They will be comprehensively tailored to the requirements of operation in Berlin. The first new buses are due to arrive in the city in 2020.

An initial delivery of two pre-series vehicles has been agreed. An Enviro500 double decker was trialled in service in Berlin in October 2015. After successful tests and trial operation, the acceptance of a minimum of 70 vehicles is guaranteed. In a further step, BVG’s current plans envisage a fleet of 200 Enviro500s on the streets of Berlin in the near term. The present decision of BVG’s supervisory board allows the order of up to 430 buses from the framework contract. The maximum investment volume is €220m.

Colin Robertson, Chief Executive at ADL said: “We are delighted that BVG, as a leading and innovative European transport operator, has chosen Alexander Dennis as the sole supplier of Berlin’s new double-deck buses. Our state-of-the-art Enviro500 vehicles offer benefits for BVG, its drivers and its passengers, as Alexander Dennis has already demonstrated with over 17,000 Enviro family double-deckers for customers around the world. This new partnership with BVG is a significant step forward in our European expansion strategy.”

BVG operates around 1,500 buses which last year alone transported 441 million passengers. More than 400 double deckers are used on BVG services in Berlin. This is the largest fleet of its kind in continental Europe and one of the largest in the world.