Oppo Bus Review of the Volvo B5TL

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse) 05/30/2015 at 15:43 • Filed to: Volvo, B5TL

0

5

I haven’t done one of these for ages, a fact entirely connected to my reluctance to engage with the great unwashed in public transport. So long has it been that I decided to give it a go with a nice new and shiny bus.

Have a Volvo B5TL. In fact have two, there’s another one across the street:

It’s not entirely a Volvo though as bus building tends to be a two step process. Volvo build either a rolling chassis like this

Or just the front and rear sections which are temporarily joined for shipping purposes

while someone else does the rest. In this case the body is by Wright, but Volvo still insist on their name appearing.

Power is somewhat controversially by a dinky little 5.1 litre engine with 240 bhp. The B9TLs used previously had 9 litre engines (hence the name) but the tiddler is more economical and because it has to work harder and hotter it allows the fearfully complicated emissions equipment (there’s virtually a chemical plant in the exhaust) to work properly.

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

It’s a city bus, it doesn’t need performance except to haul a full load uphill. The test vehicle didn’t encounter either of these conditions and so trundled along contentedly.

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

The little engine is quiet, especially if you’re a long way from it in front or upstairs.

If this were America you’d have an Allison automatic box but it isn’t. Our bus company have tried these in the past attached to GM two stroke diesels and it didn’t go well. The usual choice in Europe is Voith or ZF (interestingly Voith is a name well known in America after being Anglicised as Foyt). Volvo use a six speed ZF unit with electronic control and a torque converter which locks up nearly all the time. It works just fine although the 1-2 change is sometimes a little abrupt and it can sometimes hunt a little going uphill. The upper gears are a bit aspirational in city use of course.

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

Generally reasonable but this is a new bus. As time goes on the interior fixtures tend to become a little unfixed and rattle as you go over bumps and potholes. Lots of these on town roads so lots of rattles will ensue.

Accessibility

Buses have to be accessible by the disabled and infirm so it kneels at stops and has a flat floor, reserved seating and a wheelchair ramp. The rest of us have to put up with limited legroom, possibly standing room only and the need to hang on during stopping and starting.

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

Lots of seats and you can stand if needs be so it’s rarely going to be unable to accommodate you.

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

No USB sockets and no power points but you do get free wifi so there’s that.

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

The fare includes a driver so it’s very easy. Someone else drives it for you.

!!! UNKNOWN HEADER TYPE (MULTI-LINE BREAK?) !!!

So there you have it. It’s a city bus, it does its job just fine and is a great deal better than the rattleboxes I’ve been in in the past.

Hoccy > Cé hé sin 05/30/2015 at 15:54

0

Interesting! Here in Oslo we have the 7700, both as a the short and the long bendy type. I must say that I prefer it over the MAN buses we also have here, but I don’t ride them enough to give a proper review.

Cé hé sin > Hoccy 05/30/2015 at 18:42

0

Oh, a bendy bus! We’ve always preferred our buses high rather than long.

Interestingly the 7700 is a body rather than a chassis and it was sometimes built on the B5 chassis that we use.

Hoccy > Cé hé sin 05/31/2015 at 03:36

0

Tram lines and double deckers don’t mix so well, I’ve heard...

I guess it doesn’t make sense to built two different chassis for something that would essentially do the same job. Do you get the hybrid powertrain?

Cé hé sin > Hoccy 05/31/2015 at 04:43

0

No hybrids at the moment. I think they’ve been trialled but they’re just too expensive.

We got rid of our trams a very long time ago. Double deckers were the norm until I think the 1980s when they began to buy single deckers but in recent years more batches of double deckers have been bought.

I’ve been on hybrids in Stockholm where they bought a batch of them last year. They use capacitors rather than batteries which provide just enough power to get going and maybe travel a couple of bus lengths before the engine starts.

Hoccy > Cé hé sin 05/31/2015 at 05:28

0

There’s a few here, but I don’t think they’re worth the extra cost yet. Good to see some development though, I’m sure they’ll get better.

People have a quite romantic relationship with the trams here, and you could argue that they’re for the most part more comfortable than buses. Still, they’re locked in their lines and stuck in the same traffic as everything else. It would be better if tram streets were closed for other traffic, but it would also be quite unpopular..