NTA signs 600-bus deal with Alexander Dennis

NTA chief Anne Graham

Shawn Pogatchnik

SCOTLAND'S Alexander Dennis has won a tender to supply up to 600 diesel-hybrid buses to Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus at a cost of around €450,000 per vehicle.

The firm says it will deliver the first 100 buses to the National Transport Authority (NTA) this autumn. The 66-seat double-decker model ordered, the Enviro400ER, has diesel engines and electric batteries able to cover at least 2.5km without recharging.

Northern Ireland's Wrightbus had been seen as another likely bidder when the procurement competition was launched last year. However, it is understood that the NTA never received a formal tender from the Ballymena, Co Antrim-based firm, which was engulfed in its own crisis in the second half of 2019.

Wrightbus fell into administration in September and faced collapse before a rescue in November by its new owner, the Bamford Bus Company.

Dennis, meanwhile, says its engines should mean a 30pc cut in CO2 emissions compared to normal diesels. More than 1,400 are already in use in the UK. The deal includes options for a further 500 buses over five years as Ireland seeks to cut carbon emissions from public transport.

Alexander Dennis said the Enviro400ER "switches off its diesel engine at low speeds during approach to and departure from stops and when stationary".

The NTA said the first 100 buses will cost approximately £38m (€45m). A full 600-bus order would cost £230m. The NTA is buying for both Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann.