Inside Alexander Dennis's Bus Manufacturing Site // 27/4/24

On the day of filming this vlog, British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Ltd were hosting their annual Open Day at their factory based in Farnborough, Hampshire. Let's take a close look around and see what's on display...
Hope you enjoy!
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#alexanderdennis #bus #farnborough

[@theBusManiac]

The Spirit of London Enviro 400 was the first ever made and stagecoach used it as a direct replacement for the bus blown up in the London bombings in 2005. I believe at some point it had a fire upstairs but was repaired. I dont think its used in service anymore its preserved.

[@EyeAitch]

Would be interesting if it was preserved in Farnborough. And even greater if it’s out again on special rides

[@hamburger7478]

most city buses in singapore and hongkong uses triaxles. There are also a couple of e500s in germany and swizerland as well, also used as city buses

[@EyeAitch]

I guess the bigger buses are necessary for HK/Singapore given their population

[@hamburger7478]

24:20 it's a dart from hong kong citybus. I dont think singapore ever had darts actually, not sure about that tho.

[@arthuuu_]

the E500EV you went inside of is a production model for KMB in Hong Kong - the words on the seats are in Traditional Chinese the seat design isn't especially new, KMB has used them on all new buses since 2017, and all buses since 2019 have had seatbelts installed they get away with harder seats as most journeys are around 30 minutes, and they need the extra thinness since it's very high density the displays in the front are full colour LCD screens and not dot matrices (oh and there aren't any reading lights)

[@EyeAitch]

Oh nice, cool info there. Thanks for sharing

[@jamiep61]

The Harrogate Bus Company order 19 Enviro400 EV Double Decker Buses that will be arriving this Summer 😊

[@EyeAitch]

Ooh wow that’s brilliant, I’m sure you’ll absolutely love them!

[@hamburger7478]

22:20 i think it's a duple metsec body. I remembered there are some dennis tridents with this bodywork in hong kong back in the early 2000s

[@WCML730]

Extreme mega stuff 🔥💪

[@EyeAitch]

Thanks bro

[@WCML730]

@@EyeAitch anytime 🔥🔥

[@anacondadoh-victoriousii]

Fact - The Alexander Dennis Enviro 500ev is available for UK use if there is demand.

[@EyeAitch]

Oh nice, how epic would that be

[@anacondadoh-victoriousii]

@@EyeAitch yes, that would be awesome. I say one location is the Cambridge Busway. It could be perfect for the Gloucester - Cheltenham route 94X.

[@EyeAitch]

@@anacondadoh-victoriousii ah nice! I think there’s a busway up in Luton. Would be nice to see Arriva use it there

[@Trident4544]

11:51 it’s a 1999 ALX400 Trident If it was 2001 it would be on the Y reg or 51 plate

[@EyeAitch]

Thanks, yes it is

[@SouthernRex]

A little someone was there aswell👀 great footage!

[@EyeAitch]

Yes that would be true indeed 👀 also thank you very much I appreciate it 🙂

[@simon11235]

Like the video - nice to hear your commentary!

[@EyeAitch]

Thank you very much 🙂

[@SouthboundFS]

The three-axle double deckers are the norm of public busses in Singapore and Hong Kong. The green ADL 500 was probably the 1st prototype of the Singapore specifications[Note the lush green livery].

[@EyeAitch]

Oh wow, feels great to have seen how these buses are built to different Hong Kong’s and Singapore’s needs. Looks like something the UK can adopt in the future

[@hamburger7478]

​@@EyeAitchikr, would be great if we hav more triaxles in the uk. Currently only lothian and stagecoach has the e400xlb, and only goahead has a handful amount of bci for city routes. I guess they are not that sucessful in here cuz of the narrow roads we hav.

[@theBusManiac]

The enviro 200 chassis you saw is ready to have a body to be built. It hasnt got 4 spare tyres, its normal to have 4 wheels on the rear axle to balance the weight of the vehicle. Buses dont have spare tyres. The bus with Chinese writing on the seats is built for exprort to hong kong.

[@EyeAitch]

Yep immediately corrected myself with the wheels. Also i agree it seems like the bus was going off to somewhere in Asia

[@membershipofbus]

I like the Enviro 400FCEV the most

[@EyeAitch]

Fair enough, the concept of a hydrogen-fuelled bus really does intrigue me too!

[@jimgemmell2831]

Farnborough is an airport, not an air base. Primarily used by private biz jets. The tower is an ATC (Air Traffic Control) Tower.

[@EyeAitch]

Ah I always thought air base and airport were similar in meaning. And thanks for reminding me, I always knew it was a control tower, my mind went blank when I was filming 😂

[@flying_scotsman_60103]

🥶🥶

[@RWL2012]

18:18 you can't be serious lol, it's a 1989-1990 G-reg on the previous (1983-2001 "prefix") reg system. notice how the second digit is a number (5) not a letter (S). the G is the age identifier, the 515 is the unique identifier, and the VYE is the area identifier. whereas on the current (2001-2051) system, GS (let's say) would be the area identifier, 15 would be the age identifier, and VYE would be the unique identifier. 19:27 that's a P-reg, so 1996-1997

[@EyeAitch]

Ah brilliant, thank you for the explanation 😃. I think I soon realised these couldn’t be new buses 😂. But now I know why!

[@RWL2012]

​@@EyeAitchyou're welcome 😂

[@hamburger7478]

very nice video! Was this event open to the general public? So annoyed i missed this! :(

[@EyeAitch]

Thank you very much! Indeed it was open and free to the public, anybody could turn up to the factory, and even ride some buses for free!

[@hamburger7478]

@@EyeAitch arrrg, what a pity that i missed it... Is this a yearly thing? Maybe i could come next year.

[@EyeAitch]

@@hamburger7478 I believe it is a yearly event, keep your eyes peeled next year for the date and time!

[@Phil-oj5nr]

What is the legroom for a 6ft - 6in person? Probably not good if suburban buses I have used are anything to go by!

[@EyeAitch]

For someone that tall I think you’d struggle having any legroom😂. Yeah suburban buses, just like these ones, probably won’t suit the tallest if you’re sitting!

[@ExploreWithJakubAndTransport]

Will ireland get these brand new enviro200 and 400 (not the hybrid ones)

[@EyeAitch]

Possibly 🙂

[@ExploreWithJakubAndTransport]

@@EyeAitch what year do U think

[@EyeAitch]

@@ExploreWithJakubAndTransport I’d say 3 years

[@ExploreWithJakubAndTransport]

@@EyeAitch that's a long time, are they in service in england

[@EyeAitch]

@@ExploreWithJakubAndTransport since they’re brand new I wouldn’t think so

[@313rail]

We have some electric things starting in service soon

[@EyeAitch]

Oh nice - they’re great and they fit with modern era bus demands so I bet you’ll like them

[@seb1things1]

But are there any crash tests done to check how safe it is for the driver?

[@EyeAitch]

I’d be surprised if there wasn’t any done 😂. They offered free rides on an EV and tell you what it is proper fast

[@horsenuts1831]

Thought the factory was in Guildford. The exhibition centre is in Farnborough?

[@EyeAitch]

I think the exhibition might be a tad different, more to do with aviation (as the Farnborough airbase is nearby). A quick google search shows that the ADL site in Farnborough is where they manufacture some buses, I’d imagine not all are manufactured there of course!

[@matthewlongstaff3112]

The factory in Guildford closed around 2020. All uk manufacturing is now in Scotland or Scarborough. I believe Farnborough is their new design/engineering facility.