ADL’s new Canadian manufacturing site for major double-deck order

ADL is to establish a new bus chassis manufacturing facility in Ontario, Canada. The move follows a deal with the Government of Ontario’s transportation authority for Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (Metrolinx) that will see the British manufacturer supply 253 new low height double deckers over the next five years. Construction of the chassis facility is expected to begin in mid-2015 and the first order of buses is expected by 2016. The agreement also includes an option for a further 150 vehicles should they be required. The buses will be able to access four major terminals that cannot be served by double decks at present due to height restrictions, thereby opening up virtually all of the transport authority’s routes to potential double deck services. ADL already has almost 125 double decks operating in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area where the company claims they have proved ‘hugely popular’.

Chief Executive of ADL, Colin Robertson, said, ‘This initiative is the result of a seven year business relationship with Metrolinx that has gone from strength to strength. It involves a multi-year, exclusive agreement for the supply of double deck buses and marks a milestone for ADL. It also reinforces the reputation and performance credentials of our Enviro500 high capacity, three-axle double deck range, which is now proving to be a winner in continents around the world. We look forward to becoming a fully fledged contributor to the local economy, creating jobs and extending our supplier network. The first part of that process will be the introduction of an ADL chassis assembly facility in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. This will create up to 30 jobs and construction will begin in the middle of next year with the first of the new 250 low height double decks being delivered in early 2016.’