MCV Evolution
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The MCV Evolution (stylised as ''eVolution''; internal designation: MCV C102) is a
low floor Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname) Low is an English language, English and Languages of Scotland, Scottish surname. It is also a common surname found among Overseas Chinese language, Chinese communities around the world. ...
and low entry single-decker bus body built by
Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV) is an Egyptian manufacturer for buses and trucks. The factory, manufacturing plant is located in El Salheya El Gedida ("New Salheya"), with the head office in Obour City, near Cairo. The manufacturer ow ...
. It was unveiled in 2003 as the successor to the MCV Stirling. The MCV Evolution 2 (internal designation: MCV C124RLE) was launched, initially on
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
chassis in 2011.


Design

The MCV Evolution is based on the previous
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body, retaining a rounded roof dome, albeit no longer peaked, and having options for either a double-curvature windscreen or a single-curvature windscreen. The Evolution body was first offered on the
MAN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...
12.220 (A76), 12.240 (A76), 14.220 (A66) and 14.240 (A66) however there were plans to body on an even shorter MAN chassis, the 10.220, which can be built as short as 8.5m long. From late 2005 it was offered on the Alexander Dennis Dart SLF chassis. In October 2009, MCV and dealer
Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...
Bus & Coach unveiled a MCV Evolution VDL SB180 at ''Coach and Bus Live 2009''. The MCV Evolution was also offered on larger
full-size Full-size car—also known as large car—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than mid-size cars. It is the largest size class for cars. In the United Kingdom, this class is referred to as ...
single-decker bus chassis, such as the Volvo B7RLE,
Volvo B8RLE The Volvo B8RLE is a 7.7-litre-engined low-entry bus chassis manufactured by Volvo since 2013 for left-hand drive markets. It was designed as a replacement for the B7RLE and the B9RLE. The right-hand drive version was launched in November 2 ...
, MAN A22 and Mercedes-Benz OC500LE. One Evolution body was built on VDL SB200 chassis in 2012 as a static demonstrator for the Arriva Bus & Coach dealership, being sold two years later to Welsh independent Richards Brothers of Cardigan. The Evolution was eventually replaced by the long-wheelbase MCV Evora on Volvo B7RLE chassis in 2018, although the Evolution 2 remained in production on shorter, more lightweight chassis. The original Evolution body is internally designated by MCV as the ''C102'' on Alexander Dennis, MAN, VDL, and Volvo chassis and as the ''C120LE'' on Mercedes-Benz chassis, while the Evolution 2 body is internally designated as the ''C124RLE'' on Mercedes-Benz and Volvo chassis and as the ''C130RLE'' on MAN chassis.


Operators


United Kingdom

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contractors Docklands Buses and
Metroline Metroline is a bus operator operating primarily in Greater London and partially in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro and operates bus services for London Buses under contract to Transport for Lon ...
both purchased examples. The Evolution body is particularly popular with the United Kingdom's independent bus operators; the first Evolution 2 bodied Volvo B7RLEs were delivered to independent Pulhams Coaches of Bourton on the Water in 2012. East Yorkshire Motor Services took delivery of ten Evolution-bodied Volvos between 2014 and 2016, the first four on Volvo B7RLE chassis, while the remainder were delivered on the new B8RLE chassis. Travel de Courcey of
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
was another popular operator of MCV Evolutions, purchasing examples on both MAN and Mercedes-Benz chassis.


Hong Kong

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating Bus services in Hong Kong, franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes, with over 4,000 buses ...
were the only purchaser of the MCV Evolution body in Hong Kong, taking delivery of 70 Evolutions built on Volvo B7RLE chassis in two batches between 2010 and 2012 for use on lower-capacity bus services in the region.


New Zealand

Tranzit Group of New Zealand purchased 58 Evolutions. Go Bus of New Zealand currently operates 43 of the type, 31 being the 15.250 MAN chassis and the remaining 12 being 14.240 MAN chassis.


Philippines

The Evolution has a handful of operators in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, with the main operators of Evolutions being the UBE Express Airport Bus and
Bonifacio Global City Bonifacio Global City, also known as BGC, Global City, or The Fort, is a 240-hectare mixed-use estate and central business district located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Philippines. It is the home of the Philippine Stock Exchange, the national ...
operator BGC Bus. Delta Neo Solutions (DNS) also operates a handful of units for the Okada Manila Hotel, and briefly for the P2P Express Bus Service.


Former Operators


Singapore

In 2010, SMRT Buses has trialled a MAN NL323F (A22) (Registration SMB138Y) due to their fleet of Mercedes-Benz O405s reaching their retirement. The bus had a MCV Evolution Bodywork with Ventura Sliding Doors equipped to improve safety in several ways similarly, MCV Evolution bodied design used on the Hong Kong’s Volvo B7RLE. In 2011, The trial was successful. However, the production batch was built by Gemilang Coachworks instead of MCV Evolution, with the MAN Lion's City Hybrid Bodywork. In 2012 the trial has ended and the bus was eventually re-bodied by into a MAN Lion's City Hybrid and would operate as a Perth Airport Shuttle in Australia, Registered as M/O 5241, later changing registration to CVL 3187 in 2017, and then to XQ39KQ in 2020.


Gallery

File:Weston-super-Mare station - Bakers Dolphin 94 (AJ58PZC) rear.jpg, Bakers Dolphin MCV Evolution bodied MAN 14.240 rear at Weston-super-Mare station in August 2012 File:Burnham-on-Sea Marine Drive - Webberbus BT63UUV.jpg, Webberbus MCV Evolution 2 bodied Volvo B7RLE in Burnham-on-Sea in May 2014 File:Burnham-on-Sea Esplanande - Webberbus BT63UUP (rear).jpg, Webberbus MCV Evolution 2 bodied Volvo B7RLE in Burnham-on-Sea in May 2014 File:Somerbus bus (AE11 BDF), 2011 Bristol Vintage Bus Group open day.jpg, Somerbus MCV Evolution 2 bodied Mercedes-Benz OC500LE in July 2013


References


External links

{{Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV) Low-floor buses Low-entry buses Midibuses Full-size buses Vehicles introduced in 2003