This bus has a fundamental weakness
It is not my like or dislike of the bus- yes, I actually don't like the exterior design, I think it's crap, and it very expensive to fix. my main issue is with the bus being 2 axle chassis. let me explain.
the maximum weight of a 2 axle bus [single or double deck] is 18,000kg.
thid bus- code LT- is 11.3m long, with a weight of 12,600 kg-. that leaves 5400 kg for passengers; - so the maximum number of passengers the bus can carry is 80 passengers.
this is very poor- a normal 10.2m d/d 2 axle bus in london can carry 87 passengers at least.
so here you have a big heavy bus with two staircases, carrying less passengers than a shorter normal d/d bus/ this is a flop.
ADL makes a 11.3m long bus, but with 3 axle- and it is fully air cond. the max wieght for this is 23,000, so it can carry 120 passengers.
so you tell me what is more efficient
as for ventilation on the LT:
well, the reason the LT does not have opening windows has to do with weight. yes, hoppa windows unit weigh quite a bit, and 20 windows would wieght more than the cooling unit installed in the LT.
so if you want to fit opening windows or a proper air cond unit, this comes at the expense of total maximum passenger capacity.
The LT does not have air cond unit but a much weaker [and lighter] air cooling system.
That is one of the reasons Hong Kong would NEVER buy those buses.
then there is the engine- it is 5.3 litre engine; yes, the bus is hybrid, but with 5.3 diesel engine you can see that this bus is not going to be very fast. in fact, it will not be able to serve in Haifa or Jerusalem due to the hills.
In London, it is being used on route serving flat terrain, along very congested roads. route 24 takes 3 hours for a round trip of 10km each way, so speed does not matter.
Short of fitting 3 axle instead of 2 axle- a radical design change- there is not much scope for improving on performance, due to weight restrictions.
That is a very serious issue. that is why this bus has been examined by many operators but no body except London will buy it. I hope that Dan or egged would not buy such a flop.
Ask your contacts about the weight limit- it is a real safety issue- this is universal not just in Europe but in the USA. Canada, Australia, far east, china, india, south africa... Turkey etc.
What I say above comes via some bus engineers- the ones that work in bus companies and make decisions on what bus models to buy.
regards
Yoram