This drawing was drawn in memory of bus enthusiast Robert Lidster who passed away aged 40 after being battling leukaemia after being diagnosed in 2021. He was also a keen follower of my page and was following the progress of this drawing but sadly never got to see it complete.
Like me, Robert has also done bus drawings which can be viewed on his Flickr following this link here.
www.flickr.com/photos/robertlidster/albums/72157666652258...
For this occasion, Harrogate Bus Company's no.2201 carries his name in the drawing and although not a reality although would love to see this happen.
So 2201 was new to The Harrogate Bus Company and is part of a large batch of Alexander Dennis Enviro400 EVs for the flagship 36 service linking Leeds to Harrogate and Ripon.
The service is still mainly used by Wright Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5TLs as these buses are slowly being phased in with the amount of technology these carry on-board. Whilst visually similar to the current fleet which is now nine years old, there are big differences with the main one being that these new buses are electric and like the Volvo 7900e fleet these are charged up at Harrogate Bus Station whilst parked up at the stands via overhead charging equipment. The buses are also featuring new features such as more next stop screens, new LCD destination displays which is a big first for any bus to my knowledge and easy to see seats so some with visual disabilities could find it better to locate a seat.
Like the Volvo B5TL fleet, these buses feature two rear tables and a 2+1 seating layout upstairs but unlike them they feature a side mounted table on each seat with a cup holder and of course the '36 library' is still carried on as the bus features a red shelf over the front nearside wheel for books.
Also the fleet carry a unique bit of branding at the rear of each bus like the Mercedes-Benz eCitaros they are sharing the limelight with at the moment as most if not all of those buses are in service right now on routes 1, 7 and 24.
Also, this is the first time since the mid-90s when Alexander buses were bought for the 36 as in the Blazefield era, Volvo single and double deckers with Alexander Strider and Alexander Royale bodies were bought for that service.
No.2201 has only been out a few times so far with the last time being December 2024 but the first debut of this stunning vehicle was back in June 18th 2024 attending a 'launch event' in Harrogate with the help of BF24 AHC the eCitaro demonstrator on long term loan to the company until things settle down with the current fleet, similar older demonstrator MB21 BUS is also here and has spent most of its life with Transdev.
This version of the Enviro400 EV replaces the Enviro400 City-styled version which had running parts from Chinese firm BYD. Unlike the original Enviro400 EV this one is integral using ADL's own parts. The bodywork has been redesigned from the now 10 year old MMC style as for one the front end has been redesigned to comply with the new TfL standards on windscreens, as a result of this Wrightbus' newest buses also show this feature with a lightly facelifted front end.
