BYD/ADL electric decker to be trialled with Reading

A BYD ADL Enviro400 EV is to be trialled with Reading Buses from tomorrow.

The electric double-decker is to be used on Reading Buses purple 17 route between Wokingham Road and Tilehurst between 9 July and 18 July.

The trial comes as Reading Borough Council submit a bid to the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) fund, which has the support of Reading Buses. If successful, the operator says the first orders could be placed in 2022/23.

“Electric technology is reaching a point where we can see that some urban services could reliably be converted to battery electric vehicles in the near future” – Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer, Robert Williams

Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer, Robert Williams, said: “Electric technology is reaching a point where we can see that some urban services could reliably be converted to battery electric vehicles in the near future.

“We are teaming up with manufacturers BYD and Alexander Dennis to give their latest London double decker a try to gather as much real-life data as possible from running the bus in Reading. We tried their single decker on the Winnersh Triangle Park & Ride service in 2019.

“We are also keen to hear customer views as the layout is a little bit different to regular purple17 buses, partly to make space for some of the batteries.”