single-deck bus
A single-decker bus or single-decker is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term ''single-decker'' refers to a standard two-axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which i ...
chassis manufactured by
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
. It was superseded by the
Volvo B8RLE
The Volvo B8RLE is a 7.7-litre-engined low-entry bus chassis manufactured by Volvo since 2013 for Euro VI markets. It was designed as a replacement for the B7RLE and the B9RLE. The right-hand drive version was launched in November 2014.
in 2013.
Specifications
The Volvo B7RLE is similar to its predecessor, the B10BLE. In essence the B7RLE is the front section of the B7L chassis mated with the rear section of the B7R chassis. Originally, the B7RLE featured the D7C 6-cylinder, 7.3-litre diesel engine with a
turbocharger
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
and intercooler, producing 250 or 275 bhp and meeting the Euro III incentive emission standard. This was replaced by the 7.1-litre Volvo D7E engine producing 290 bhp, to Euro III/Euro IV/Euro V incentive emission standards. Unlike the B7L, the B7RLE's engine is mounted at the center of the rear overhang as opposed to the nearside, resolving the issue of engine intrusion into the saloon. The Volvo B7RLE is also equipped with disc brakes and ABS.
Operators
The Volvo B7RLE was launched in mainland Europe and Australia in 2001, and then in the United Kingdom in 2003 to supplement the B7L, which was unsuccessful in both countries. The B7RLE appealed more to UK operators, with whom the B7L was unpopular and has sold well compared to its predecessor.
United Kingdom and Ireland
Major purchasers of the B7RLE included
Arriva
Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Blazefield Group
Transdev Blazefield is a bus group, which operates local and regional bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. Formed in August 1991, the group has been a subsidiary of French-based operato ...
East Yorkshire Motor Services
East Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, England. Prior to acquisition by the Go-Ahead Group in June 2018, the company was known as East Yorkshire Motor Services.
History ...
(27),
FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Lothian Buses
Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothi ...
(90),
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, as well as limited routes outside of the general area of Birmingham, s ...
Wellglade Group
The Wellglade Group (WG), is a transport group operating bus and tram services in the English Midlands.
History
Wellglade was formed in 1986 when Brian King and Ian Morgan purchased Trent Buses from the National Bus Company in a managem ...
(78).
Initially the B7RLE was only available in the UK with
Wright Eclipse Urban
The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 1999 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister desig ...
bodywork. From 2004 it was built as a
low-floor
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
, with a longer front overhang and
Wright Eclipse Commuter
The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 1999 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister desig ...
body. From late 2006 the B7RLE in the UK was available with
Plaxton Centro
The Plaxton Centro was a Low-entry bus, low entry single-decker bus bodywork designed by Bluebird Vehicles and manufactured by Plaxton.Alexander Dennis Enviro300 and
Optare Esteem
The Optare Esteem was a low-floor single-decker bus body manufactured by East Lancashire Coachbuilders, Darwen East Lancs and Optare between 2006 and 2009 on Scania N94UB, Scania N230UB, Volvo B7RLE, MAN 12.240, Alexander Dennis Dart SLF, Al ...
bodywork in 2008.
Dochertys Midland Coaches bus (SN60 CNU) 2010 Volvo B7RLE Wrightbus Eclipse, Auchterarder, 5 May 2011.jpg, B7RLE Eclipse
Arriva Kent & Surrey GN07AVL, Chatham Bus Station, 15 January 2018 (cropped).jpg, B7RLE of
Arriva
Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Transport for Brisbane
Transport for Brisbane, previously called Brisbane Transport'','' is an organisational division of the Brisbane City Council, responsible through its related Council Committee for providing policy and advice to Brisbane City Council, and for de ...
(554),
ComfortDelGro Australia
ComfortDelGro Australia is a major Australian public transport company. Founded in October 2005 as ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, a joint venture between Singapore-based ComfortDelGro (51%) and Australian Cabcharge (49%), today it is a fully owned su ...
Transperth
Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system serving the city and suburban areas of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation. Train op ...
(767) with
Bustech
BusTech Group is an Australian bus-building manufacturer with production facilities in Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Edinburgh Adelaide, South Australia and Burnie, Tasmania. BusTech Group produces fully built up integral route buses, school buse ...
,
Custom Bus
Custom Bus (previously Custom Coaches) is an Australian bus body builder in St Marys, New South Wales.
History Cycle Components Manufacturing Company
In 1935 Stanley Hillsdon founded Cycle Components Manufacturing Company (CCMC) in Guildford, ...
and
Volgren
Volgren is an Australian bus and coach body manufacturer.
History
Volvo Buses, VolGrenda Corporation, gren was formed in 1977 by Melbourne bus operator Grenda Corporation in Dandenong, Victoria. Because Grenda held the Volvo Buses dealership i ...
bodywork.
Transperth Volvo B7RLE (Volgren Optimus) TP2726 @ Curtin University Bus Station (cropped).jpg, Volgren Optimus B7RLE
Transport NSW liveried (mo 6055), operated by Hillsbus, Volgren 'CR228L' bodied Volvo B7RLE at Castle Hill Interchange.jpg, Volgren CR228L B7RLE
China Mainland
The B7RLE is one of the very few foreign bus chassis models in Mainland China, assembled by Shanghai Sunwin Bus, assigned Chinese assembly model numbers SWB6125, SWB6120V4LE, and SWB6120V6LE. Units operated in Shanghai are SWB6120V4LE, with fleet number prefix S2F/S2G (Shanghai Public Transport) & S2B (Pudong Bus) (Euro III); S2D, with fleet number prefix S2D (written off) and SWB6120V6LE, with fleet number prefix S2M (Shanghai Public Transport)(Euro IV w/ adblue). One SWB6120V6LE unit was sent to Nanjing Public Transport as a gift, but never entered service due to a series of reasons. The B7RLE was seen very commonly on
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
streets. However, Shanghai Public Transport is planning to retire its entire B7RLE fleet together with the B9Ls and B7Ls by the end of 2022, making its transition to battery-powered electric and diesel hybrid buses.
The entire fleet of B7RLEs in China mainland are equipped with Volvo D7B260/D7E290EC01/D7E290EC06 Engines paired with ZF EcoMat 6HP554C transmission.
Shanghai Bus BridgeLine1 S2G-331B SWB6120V4LE.JPG, B7RLE in Shanghai, China
Hong Kong
In 2003, Huangbus (Lok Ma Chau -
Huanggang
Huanggang is a prefecture-level city in easternmost Hubei Province, China. It is situated to the north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is bounded in the north by the Dabie Mountains and is named after Mount Huanggang. It border ...
shuttle bus service) purchased five B7RLEs with Jit Luen JL-08 bodies and D7E-290 7142cc engines.
Kowloon Motor Bus
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International.
...
ordered 70 B7RLEs with
MCV Evolution
The MCV Evolution (stylised as ''eVolution''; internal designation: MCV C102) is a low floor and low entry single-decker bus body built by Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles. It was unveiled in 2003 as the successor to the MCV Stirling. The MCV ...
bodies in 2009, which some of them had been converted to Training buses.
VolvoB7RLERG4538,203C.jpg, B7RLE Hong Kong
India
In India, B7RLEs were introduced into service in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
in 2006 by the
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation
Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation - (BMTC) is a state-owned public road transport corporation in the Indian city of Bengaluru. It is wholly owned by the Government of Karnataka. It serves the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region.
Histor ...
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd. - (TNSTC) is a Government owned public transport bus operator in Tamil Nadu, India. It operates Intercity bus services to cities within Tamil Nadu, and from Tamil Nadu to its neighbouring states. It a ...
in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
,
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the country's oldest state-run public bus transport services. The corporation is divided into three zones ( ...
in
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
and
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
and in 2014
Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation
The Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) was a state-run bus company which started with more than 500 low-floor buses (A/C & NON A/C) in Kerala. KURTC used to run complete and individual services in Thiruvananthapuram & Ernakulam ...
started using B7RLEs for their Town To Town services all over
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
state.
They were later inducted into the fleets of
Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport
Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) is the transport wing of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which operates bus services in Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, loc ...
Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai (), is a planned city situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, located in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, on the mainland of India.
Navi Mumbai is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city i ...
and
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
respectively. Custom made B7RLE chassis are assembled at Volvo's factory outside Bangalore. The dual-doored versions are operated by the WBTC in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
fitted with a
Euro IV
The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...
engine.
Israel
Metropoline purchased Volvo B7RLEs with
Merkavim
Merkavim Transportation Technologies Ltd., shortened to Merkavim (), is the largest bus manufacturing company in Israel. They produce many different types of buses, including tourism coaches, urban buses, long-distance buses and minibuses. In addit ...
Pioneer bodywork. Some bus companies own Volvo B7RLEs with USB sockets, WiFi and Real time and it is the first country to use 2009 buses with a new
ZF EcoLife
The ZF EcoLife transmission is a 6 speed planetary transmission for medium capacity applications with rapid speed variation, such as city buses and diesel commuter rail, designed by ZF Friedrichshafen. It features boosted operating economy, longer ...
transmission
Malaysia
In 2006,
Rapid Bus
Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd is the largest bus operator in Malaysia operating mainly in urban areas of Klang Valley, Penang & Kuantan. As of August 2022, Rapid KL service brands unit of Rapid Bus, has operates 112 normal routes and also 69 MRT Fe ...
ordered 120 Deftech bodied B7RLE buses for operation on RapidKL services. This is the first Rapid Bus fleet to feature wheelchair accessible ramp, and only bus fleet to feature wheelchair accessible ramp at both front and rear doors (later front doors ramp were removed after refurbishment). Later in 2014, MRT Malaysia Corp ordered 150
Gemilang Coachworks
Gemilang Coachwork Sdn Bhd ("GML") is a manufacturer of commercial vehicles including but not limited to buses and coaches. Based in Malaysia, GML specialises in designing and manufacturing bus bodies and the assembly of buses. GML is also one of ...
bodied B7RLE's for operation on MRT feeder bus.
File:Gemilang bodied Volvo B7RLE for MRT Feeder bus.jpg, Gemilang bodied Volvo B7RLE for MRT Feeder bus
File:Volvo B7RLE RapidKL.jpg, Deftech bodied Volvo B7RLE for RapidKL
New Zealand
Ritchies Coachlines __NOTOC__
Ritchies Transport is a New Zealand private bus operator, owned by KKR. It was established in 1972 and describes itself as "the largest privately owned bus and coach transport operator in New Zealand" with a fleet of over 1500 vehicles s ...
Kiwi Bus Builders
Kiwi Bus Builders is a New Zealand bus bodybuilder based in Tauranga.
History
Kiwi Bus Builders was established in 1993. It has built bus and coach bodies for many operators including Go Bus Transport, NZ Bus
NZ Bus is New Zealand's large ...
bodied examples with a third axle added.
Philippines
The Philippines has B7RLEs running in
Cebu City
Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Acc ...
, operated by Metro Rapid Transport System Inc., the owner of MyBus. Starting July 2016, RRCG Transport launches "P2P (Point-to-Point) Premium Bus Service" for Alabang Town Center to Greenbelt 1, serving 3 units for King Long XMQ6127G with Sunwin SWB6128 front and rear mask, built by the
Philippine
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
-based Autodelta Coach Builders, Inc. This model is also used by
Cebu Pacific
Cebu Air, Inc., operating as Cebu Pacific (), is a low-cost airline of the Philippines. Founded in 1988, it is Asia's oldest low-cost airline. It offers scheduled flights to both domestic and international destinations. The airline operates fl ...
for transporting passengers from NAIA Terminal 3 to their aircraft. The bus company
Joanna Jesh Transport
Joanna Jesh Transport Corporation (JJT) is one of the largest city bus companies in the Philippines. It plies routes from Food Terminal Incorporates (FTI Complex) in Taguig to Navotas.
Etymology
Joanna Jesh Transport was taken from the names J ...
and CEM Trans Services Inc also started to use the bus model for its FTI-Navotas and Alabang-Malanday route respectively starting in 2019.
File:Joanna Jesh Transport Volvo B7RLE.jpg, Volvo B7RLE in the Philippines, body made by Autodelta for Joanna Jesh Transport Inc.
Singapore
Singapore has B7RLEs running in
Sentosa
Sentosa Island, known mononymously as Sentosa, and formerly ''Pulau Belakang Mati'', is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the K ...
featuring Liannex bodies, either in a city bus configuration for its internal shuttles, or as open-top
double-decker bus
A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...
es. A Euro IV demonstrator featuring Soon Chow bodywork was offered to SBS Transit (initially meant for a one-year trial) in December 2007, registered as SBS8030L, and is under Hougang Depot as a training bus currently.
Volvo B7RLE PA5279K.jpg, B7RLE, Sentosa featuring Liannex bodies
Taiwan
In Taiwan, B7RLEs were first introduced on
Chiayi Bus Rapid Transit
Chiayi Bus Rapid Transit (Chiayi BRT; ) is a limited-stop express bus service operating in Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the nort ...
(Chiayi BRT) in 2007. All B7RLEs in Taiwan that were manufactured between 2007 and 2012 featured Tang Eng Iron Works bodywork, whereas those manufactured after 2013 featured Daji bodywork.
興南客運藍幹線093-U9.jpg, B7RLE, Taiwan
B7RLE
The Volvo B7RLE is a low-entry single-deck bus chassis manufactured by Volvo. It was superseded by the Volvo B8RLE in 2013.
Specifications
The Volvo B7RLE is similar to its predecessor, the B10BLE. In essence the B7RLE is the front section of t ...