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The new Bus for London NB4L
Images Courtesy of Colin Evans |
As we may all know 'Mayor' Boris Johnson since his coming into power in 2008, he has wanted to design a new bus for London, that symbolises the hugely popular Routemaster Buses that used to operate on the streets of London until 2005. So much so he even hosted a competition in which people (mostly bus enthusiasts) would submit sketches to TFL showing what they thought the bus should look like. The winners would receive £25,000 grand prize. In actual fact the winners were no ordinary members of the public, they ironically were Aston Martin and Foster & Partners who are an architectural firm who specialise in Glass and Steel building. However it was not the winners that would gain authority to build the NB4L (New Bus For London) it would be existing bus manufacturers. For this TFL called in six well known Bus manufacturers to negotiate the contract to build the NB4L.These were
Alexander Dennis, EvoBus ,Hispano Carrocera, Optare, Scania AB and Wrightbus. The manufacturers had to show that they had the capability of building 600 buses or more over a period of three years. Finally on the 23rd of December 2009 it was announced that Wrightbus of Ballymena, Ireland had been awarded the contract to build these vehicles. And here it is.
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| A side shot of the N4BL (New Bus For London) |
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| NB4L Interior |
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NB4L Rear
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Anyone any idea which routes are getting these first?
ReplyDeleteThe 23 and 38 are contenders.
ReplyDeletewhat a mess dont like it
ReplyDeleteI don't think 23 is geting them.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how long these are?
ReplyDeleteP.S. route 38 will be getting them in February.
They are 11.3m long
ReplyDeleteRoute 38 will be getting 2 of them in Feb. Another 6 should appear over a 3 month period.
ReplyDeleteFINALLY! A bus to make bus travel sexy again. The NBFL will be a huge hit with the bus going public for its quick on and off's and gorgeous and superbly designed interior as well as other road going public that didin't like being mown down by huge bendies. Built in the UK so extra cost recouped via tax and World beating fuel economy and emissions is the icing on the cake. My only concern is the time it will take to roll these design icons. TFL should have their cheque book really for hundreds now instead of waiting another six months as its going to be a sure fire hit anyway. The dogs on the street can see that. Well done Boris for actually delivering on your pledge, unlike crony Ken.
ReplyDeleteyer but how much do they cost compared to a normal double decker or bendy? I know, any one wanna guess?
ReplyDelete£330k is the figure I have seen quoted ... Quality Line paid £230k a piece for their last 2 Enviro 400s.
ReplyDeleteNormal hybrids are approx £300k