'Modern' new Royal-Borough-purple buses rolled out across Maidenhead and Windsor routes

A fleet of new buses is coming to the Royal Borough which will offer greater comfort for the travelling public and better environmental credentials, say its manufacturers.

Carousel Buses, which runs several local routes in and around Maidenhead and Windsor, has been supplied with nine new mid-sized and full-sized single-deck buses.

A mid-sized ‘midibus’ is shorter (8-10m instead of 11-12m), has fewer seats (25-35 compared to 40-plus) and is easier to manoeuvre on narrow or busy streets.

These will be Enviro200 buses – a modern single-decker by major bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, designed to be lightweight and fuel-efficient.

There will be six midibuses, seating up to 30 passengers at a vehicle length of 8.9m; and three full-size single-deckers measuring 11.8m and offering up to 43 passenger seats.

All have room for one wheelchair user alongside a separate buggy bay.

They will all have a screen with the next stop written on it, accompanied by a recorded voice announcement.

Four of the shorter buses have been given a distinct purple paint scheme especially to match the Royal Borough theme.

These buses will be used on:

• Routes 3 and 3AL Maidenhead town centre – Boyn Hill – Farmers Way (White Waltham)
• Route 4: Maidenhead town centre – Ray Mill – Boulter's Lock
• Route 9: Maidenhead town circular, via Cranbrook Drive.

Meanwhile, the three longer buses will be used on services 37 (Windsor – High Wycombe) and 10/10A (Windsor – Staines, via Wraysbury).

The other two short buses are painted in the operator’s standard red livery and will be used across its Carousel Country services in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

All are certified low-emission buses to reduce carbon and exhaust emissions.

They use stop–start engines, which automatically switch off when the bus is stopped and restart when it moves – along with other efficient electrical systems to reduce fuel use and cut emissions.

Luke Marion, managing director of Carousel Buses, said: 

“This order for nine new buses is the largest single order for new vehicles that Carousel has ever placed, and we’ve added new features such as camera mirror systems to these vehicles which we know will go down well with our driving team.”

Mark Ballam, national account manager for Alexander Dennis, said:

“These nine Alexander Dennis Enviro200 provide a state-of-the-art upgrade for Carousel Buses passengers across Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

“[They have] comfortable seats and [meet] latest passenger information standards – alongside USB device charging.

“Drivers and engineers will [also] benefit from the easy handling and maintenance of our best-selling single-deckers.”