Ipswich Update
Refurbishment
The current fleet strength stands at 87 the majority of which are PSVAR compliant and therefore ready for when DDA accessibility becomes a legal requirement. There are still 23 exceptions which do not comply, most of which are 1999/2000 Dart Sprytes though there is also a batch of three Optare DB250LFs and the last four step entrance buses, an open top Atlantean used only in the summer, two Volvo Olympians and a DAF DB250 Optare Spectra that began life as a demonstrator. The current thinking is that most if not all of the low floor buses will be refurbished to comply, with the work undertaken at the same time as their annual MOTs. Most already have ramps and front, side and rear electronic displays, so the work required will hopefully be limited to ramp interlocks and some internal repositioning of the seats and wheelchair bay areas.
The most recent addition to the school bus fleet is this Dennis Trident. It is the first President to join a number of East Lancs Lolynes and Alexander ALX400s
Ipswich has a large number of East Lancs Spryte Dennis Dart SLFs that will not meet PSVAR regulations and will either have to be modified or disposed of before the deadline
The school bus fleet, once dominated by Olympians, is now predominantly made up of Dennis Tridents, with additional examples acquired as step entrance buses become uneconomic to repair.
Another major investment will see 31 vehicles fitted with SCRT traps. The £384,000 this will cost is being funded by Suffolk County Council using money it has been awarded through the Clean Bus Technology Fund. The buses involved are all Dennis Dart SLFs with Cummins ISBe engines. Fifteen are currently Euro2 and will achieve Euro4 after the SCRTs are fitted, while the other 16 began at Euro3 and will be advanced to Euro5. Engineering Manager, Nigel Daniels, told me that some of the Euro2 powered buses still have their original engines. It is a condition of the award that the buses have to remain in service for five years.
The first four to be treated will have the conversion work carried out during January and the programme will then be accelerated until it reaches one bus per day, with the entire batch complete prior to the end of March. With the work done, Green Urban Technology have promised a particulate matter (PM) reduction of 95% and an average NOx reduction of 70%.
Versa issues
There was some concern about taking the MAN option in the park & ride Versas, given the high cost of replacement MAN engines, but I understand that the price paid reflects the concern that they may need re-engining at some stage. Should this be the case they will be converted to take either Cummins units as fitted to the many Dennis/ADL products operated, or Mercedes-Benz units, as fitted to the operation’s Optare Solos and Excels.
In an effort to reduce fuel consumption as well as to improve the heat characteristics of the bus (which has the cooling pack on the kerb side), Ipswich Buses is working with Avid Technologies of Cramlington in Northumberland to fit its E-fan micro hybrid system on the Versas. The existing hydraulic fan system is removed and replaced with an electric fan system. The result should be an 8% fuel saving.
The equipment is scheduled to be fitted to four Versas this month in order that it can be compared with four unmodified buses. They will run until April and if the results are satisfactory the other four will be converted.
The fuel consumptions improvements are in addition to those being achieved by other methods including the telematics systems supplied by Mix Telematics.
In the past the company used Envirox fuel additive because it believed it would enhance fuel economy but this has now been discontinued because the anticipated savings did not materialise.
Last word
Malcolm really enjoyed his year as CPT President, a role he retains until the organisation’s AGM on the morning of 23 January, at which Chris Owens, MD of Alpine Travel of Llandudno will take over the mantle. Malcolm said of the experience, which has seen him cover the length and breadth of the country, ‘I have had a really enjoyable year getting around to see as many CPT members as possible. The bus and coach industry is full of truly committed, dedicated and enthusiastic people who take whatever is thrown at them, dust themselves down and get on with the job of giving bus and coach users the services they want. I am really going to miss the involvement but there is a lot to do in Ipswich, so I look forward to getting back into the day to day stuff. I am not sure all my staff feel the same way’.