Fleet Transformation

Vehicles

If we are to create an Active Travel and Mass Transit First urban environment with a transformed network, it will have major implications for the volume, type and design of the vehicles deployed.

That change can’t simply be implemented overnight.

It will have to evolve gradually but the sooner that evolution commences, the smoother the process will be.

The Network Transformation required to deliver NET ZERO In depends fundamentally on operators delivering at least one new flagship urban operation demonstrating the transformation in service quality that is possible. Those flagship operations will require vehicles designed for that purpose so we need to be looking right now at how they can be designed, built and procured.

We need to engage manufacturers in that process and enable their contribution to an Active Travel and Mass Transit First urban environment.

There are 7 broad areas where vehicles will require to evolve relating to Operating Speed, Passenger Capacity, Fashion, Style and Quality, Environmental Impact, Autonomy, Digital Connectivity and Entertainment, and Service Type. 

Operating Speed

End to end journey speed will be a critical selling point for buses if they are to supplant the car as the major means of mobility in towns and cities.

UK bus operations have been noticeably slowed down both by the relentless growth in traffic congestion since the 1960’s and the self-inflicted conversion to One Person Operation which took place in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

In addition to bus priority measures delivered by local highway authorities, operators, themselves, also need to take responsibility for ensuring that every other aspect of their operation is designed to make passenger journeys as quick and smooth as possible.

The tradition, since the 1970’s, has been for virtually every bus operating outside London to have only one door requiring passengers wishing to board having to wait until passengers wishing to alight have done so and then also stopping to interact either with the driver for payment or to touch their card on a validator under observation of the driver.

Those processes add delay at every stop which, cumulatively, adds up to a material delay for each passenger and additional operating cost which has an adverse knock on effect both on patronage levels and fares. 

Most urban buses around the World do not suffer from those problems as they have at least two doors with passengers able to board immediately the bus stops whilst passengers alighting can do so simultaneously from the other door.

There is no good excuse for UK operators slavishly sticking with single door vehicles impacting negatively on the customer product when most of the rest of the World have safely adopted multiple door operation.

We need, therefore, to rapidly pivot to all urban buses having multiple doors and operating practices which remove the need to interact with the driver on boarding and parallel adjustments to bus stop infrastructure to suit.

No excuses!

Also, we should be encouraging manufacturers to optimise speeds of acceleration and deceleration without compromising passenger comfort and safety. Getting every ounce of benefit out of the smoother ride arising from the zero emission conversion.

Quite simply, this all needs to happen if we are serious about the bus being the foremost means of commuting in urban areas.

Passenger Capacity

The transformed networks  designed to deliver NET ZERO will see a dramatic increase in the volume of bus use in urban areas and, particularly in the major cities, substantial increases in demand on core urban routes requiring much higher individual bus capacities.

That will most easily be achieved, whilst maintaining the critical need for speed, through the deployment of articulated 18m and, potentially, bi-articulated 24m single decks where suitable adjustments to highways, street furniture and bus lanes are possible.

Following 18m articulated buses in London being ‘banished by Boris’, the only major front-line use of this fleet type is in Belfast but, as our current Prime Minister has recently reminded us, Northern Ireland is in both the UK and the EU!

Fashion, style and quality

One of the attractions of car commuting is the ability to travel in the car of your choice, so it is essential, if we are to convert people to habitual commuting by bus, those buses need to be materially more fashionable, stylish and high quality so customers enjoy the experience.

The higher travel volumes and load factors should allow a little more investment in the vehicles, themselves, with creativity devoted to ensuring they tick the fashion, style and quality boxes.

Equally importantly, they should always be well presented every day of their lives.

Environmental Impact

The transition to zero emission is a critical requirement whether through battery electric, hydrogen or opportunity charging to be both kind to the environment and also to customers through a quieter, smoother ride.

Autonomy

There will clearly be a role for autonomous bus technology in at least four forms.

Firstly, the use of autonomous Pods for relatively short feeder shuttles where segregated alignments can be made available.

Secondly, in large depots in major cities, simply using autonomous technology on the fleet within the depot environment for parking, shunting, cleaning and charging may provide efficiency gains and optimise staffing requirements.

Thirdly, where fully segregated infrastructure can be made available, for high frequency urban routes using similar technology and operational procedures to fully automated driverless Metros.

Fourthly, where there are DRT components in networks, there will be scope to deploy autonomous taxis in appropriate areas where there is a need for some simple ride hailing as opposed to ride sharing to maximize inclusive access to the full network.

Digital Connectivity and Entertainment

For security, safety, reliability and information, vehicles should have fully working reliable 5G connections powering live cctv, monitoring bus performance and supporting customer information.

Particularly on longer distance commuter and interurban operations, good quality, powerful wifi connections are essential to allow customers to connect devices for both audio and video entertainment purposes. Operators should also provide a library of entertainment stored on a hard drive on the vehicle accessible by Bluetooth connection.

This is an area where the bus can fully outperform the car allowing interactive digital activity which simply would not be available to a car driver.

Service Type

The transformed networks required to deliver NET ZERO will comprise of urban services, commuter and interurban express services, urban feeders, shuttles and DRT style operations.

There is a need for the nature of vehicles to evolve under every category but the major changes will certainly apply within urban areas with the fleets designed for much faster flowing operation. 

Some similar concepts will apply to the commuter express and interurban operations which will also require to be designed to minimize dwell time at stops.

The DRT fleets will comprise minibuses, people carriers and, potentially, autonomous taxis where there is a need for some simple ride hailing as opposed to ride sharing to maximize inclusive access to the full network.

Evolutions in Operational Practice

It is well understood that the cost of zero emission buses, and the enhancements in vehicle quality set out above, will change both the capital and revenue elements of financing bus fleets.

The more zero emission technology advances, it is likely that the ongoing full life ownership costs of the bus fleet will actually decline on a like for like basis, excluding any major investment in the customer on board experience.

As the technology evolves, battery ranges will increase whilst ongoing operational maintenance of a battery powered bus will be significantly less than a diesel equivalent.

Experience with previous generations of trolleybuses implies that the vehicle life may also very well be longer. That, however, needs to be seen in the context of a customer requirement for a fashionable, stylish and high quality travel environment which would call for a frequent refresh of vehicle interiors.

This will all, financially, need to be traded off against vastly different revenue streams.

Additionally, the much-improved operating speeds, from a combination of bus priority measures and reduced stop dwell times, coupled with utilizing AI driven scheduling systems, will have a beneficial impact in reducing relative fleet size.