This page talks about the older Enviro500 model in-game. For the MMC model, see this page.
The first generation Alexander Dennis Enviro500 is a low-floor double deck bus, being one of the first Transbus/ADL products to be sold. These buses used bodywork that was built by Alexander (known as Mark 1) and were also available with facelifted bodies in 2003 (known by bus fans as the Mark 2 model). These buses can be found in 11.3 m and 12 m variants in the game.
By 2012, the MMC or US standard (for North American customers, aka the E500NG) replaced the Mark 2 body; even though universal MMC models were made available by 2015.
Operations in Sunshine Islands[]
Sunshine Express[]
When double deck buses were first introduced to the Islands in mid-2018, Sunshine Express purchased 11.3 m Enviro500s as they were able to handle the majority of services at the time. These buses were also the first to have Sunshine Express' new livery prior to the SE 2.0 redesign. They could be found on any route as they replaced the earlier single deck buses. The buses were mainly in service to deal with the extremely busy routes in Zone 4 and to provide additional capacity on inter-zone routes, with high ridership on routes 142 and 473.
These buses were removed from service in late 2018 and in early 2019, when MAN RC2s were brought in to replace them as they aged. However, they were indirectly replaced with the 12 m Enviro500 MMC in early 2020.
As part of rebranding, Sunshine Express refurbished the units and classified them as the 4800 series. However these refurbished units were deployed to City of George instead of making a return to Sunshine Islands. Originally, it was uncertain whether they'll be re-deployed to the city as BusDriverKLN, the acting chairperson of the company, posted a picture of this bus rear with a Hong Kong style licence plate (PG7898; City of George legal plates are in British format instead of Hong Kong's). 15 buses did enter service on Sunshine Express' revised contract in the City of George, numbered 4800-4814, replacing 30 Volvo B8Ls that once operated there. Additionally, 10 units of 11.3 metre E500, bearing fleet number 4815-4824, has also been deployed to Hanwick City. Following the closure of City of George, 4800-4814 were put in storage.
According to the company's fleet roster, Sunshine Express was to assign 10 Enviro500s, numbered 4825-4834 in storage as a planned fleet expansion for the Islands. This never happened, likely due to a lack of major updates throughout the latter years in Version 1 of the game and the buses were reassigned to Hanwick.
Later all 50 units (including 4825-4834 mentioned above) were allocated to Hanwick City for operations there. Following the cessation of SE as a private company in August 2023, the buses were put in storage.
In April 2024, 4800-4809 and 4825-4849 were sold to Forever Transit, while 4810-4824 were sold to Roblox Transportation Hong Kong (RTHK).
City Scape Bus[]
Initially, CSB operated one Enviro500 in the Islands, being ATES1/AES1 which was transferred from the City of George in 2021. It was originally registered as GOT AX1, while in the Islands it is registered as MK 3618.
CSB's Enviro500 features a working next stop system and on-board television broadcasts provided by Roblox TV. It also has LED destination displays and plug-type rear doors. This bus was known for malfunctions such as a broken emergency door and loose door wings although an improved version was operational in the City of George; making it underused in SI. The problem was fixed after CSB updated the model with a fixed emergency door and a repaint system, making it compatible with advertising wraps. With the improvement, ATES1 was renumbered as AES1, although it still had its orange LED displays.
Sometime in 2022, CSB had at least 19 more Enviro500s enter service in Derry District. In May 2022, they were transferred to the Islands to join AES1, although only the class leader could be spawned at the time. The buses were refurbished in early 2024 and re-entered service in June 2024 as part of the V2 update. The main difference from this rebuild is that the Enviro500s now have white LED displays. Being 2006-2007 models, they are the oldest regular service buses in the CSB fleet following the retirement of ATL1.
A loaned Forever Transit E500 operating route 25
Forever Transit[]
During special events, Forever Transit may run its 12 m Enviro500s in the region (numbered 800-839); although they are deployed from other areas and are used solely as admin buses. While most of these units wear the old livery and have orange LED displays, 800 was refurbished, repainted in the new livery and has white LED displays. 800-809 are equipped with luggage racks for airport/border port service, while 810-839 are for conventional service.
LBTech display and stop reporters were installed on November 2023 (West Door Fleet) and February 2024 (Hanwick Fleet).
Currently, 800-829 are operating in West Door while 830-839 are assigned to Hanwick.
In April 2024, FT bought 35 11.3 m Enviro500s from Sunshine Express (4800-4809 and 4825-4849). Changes to the buses included replacing the original LCD displays with orange LED displays, installing LBTech stop reporters and renumbering the buses as 2200-2234. The buses retained the Sunshine Express livery although the FT logo replaced the SE logo. Currently, 2200-2209 are allocated to West Door while 2210-2234 are allocated to the Islands and branded for Central Connect. However, the latter are admin buses and cannot be spawned by the public.
Sunshine Islands Bus (ex-New World First Bus)[]
As part of its temporary tender in operating route U47, Sunshine Islands Bus operates its 5500-series buses in the Islands as part of increased capacity services, which are longer than CSB's units at 12 m. While they are intended for non-franchised service, these buses may also be operated on any route in the Islands. The 2008 models (5501-5517) were once equipped with onboard TV broadcasts, while the 2010-2012 models (5518 and up) did not, although as of June 2024, both types do not. In addition, the buses are also the first to feature audible announcements, which announced a welcome aboard message for route S1 (ironically a Citybus route), "Next Stop" in Cantonese and a last stop message. These announcements were replaced with Sunshine Islands Bus automated announcements as of the V2 update, which was standardized on all buses in SI.
These buses are the first to natively support user-generated advertisements including full advertising wraps, which can also be used to generate custom liveries using the decal or image ID as needed. In addition, it is also possible to wrap the buses for operators that do not exist in the game (such as Bauhinia Bus), and it comes default with a custom livery for Chung King Bus. New World First Bus units are available to the public from August 23, 2020 as part of the 2 Million Visit update and the SI Community Project and may operate on any route. However, with Citybus taking over NWFB in real life on July 1, 2023, people have also begun simulating the changes to the buses with patched liveries and transition advertising.
Although the event already ended, due to their popularity with new players and the custom wraps, these buses remain in service as of June 2024. Like the KMB E500 MMCs that were reintroduced in April 2022, these buses are also popular with new players. The buses are still available in the V2 update for a limited time under the "HK" operator to celebrate 5 million game visits, although the NWFB decals and Alexander Dennis logos were removed to avoid copyright issues. The buses are solely part of the reserve fleet and are loaned to bus companies on an as-needed basis. Some users have also created patches for the 55xx, showing them leased to Forever Transit Central Connect.
In October 2024, the fleet number of the 55XX was silently changed into "15XX", with the registration numbers also changed to fictional ones instead of using those from real life 55XXs. This may imply that the vehicle has now officially become a semi-fictional bus.
Horizon Group[]
Starting June 1, 2024, Horizon Group introduced 2003-2004 Mark I model Enviro500s as the DTE class to the Islands as fleet expansion for high ridership routes. Unlike other companies that ran these buses, Horizon's have realistic working flip dot displays. They are also natively equipped with working kneelers, fully functional dashboards and automated announcements, as well as being the only bus an openable engine door, emergency exit and emergency door open flaps on the outside.
Operations Outside Sunshine Islands[]
In Other Roblox Maps[]
Due to the older Enviro500 being a staple of most Hong Kong bus companies (including the "Big 3" franchisees), they can be found in many fictional maps. However, their use is becoming less common as companies have been switching to newer models- especially with the increase of the MMC model in Roblox. Despite this, older Enviro500s were once dominant in the fictional Hong Kong bus industry, with the first units starting out as paper models. In addition, the oldest Enviro500s with MK1 bodywork are being retired by fictional companies as they reach 18 years of age following the retirement of their predecessors, the Dennis Trident. Like Citybus Limited in real life, some companies have converted some of these buses for open top service.
Today, the ADL Enviro500 is still common in some Hong Kong maps and is commonly used as a template for custom repaints and full advertising wraps by the community.
In Real Life[]
The first generation Enviro500 is still in service, although it is becoming less common to see them operating due to the oldest being slowly phased out or changed to non-franchised service to replace retired buses. As these buses were launched in Hong Kong, they were actually wider than Transport Department regulations at 2.55 m, meaning that regulations had to be updated to permit the Enviro500 to operate.
In Hong Kong, KMB was the launch customer of the Enviro500, when it ordered 20 by changing the model from the Trident/ALX500. Unlike in other markets where the complete vehicle is shipped and ready for service, many of the initial orders purchased by KMB/Long Win Bus, Citybus and NWFB were shipped as complete knocked down kits (CKDs) with the chassis and built locally. However, later orders saw complete buses being shipped to Hong Kong. The buses can be found serving most routes, although the oldest have been retired and some Euro IV units have been converted to training buses. The smallest operator of this model is China Light and Power, which runs 5 units for employee shuttles (operated by Citybus).
The order was successful enough that KMB/LWB has purchased thousands of vehicles from ADL since then and also purchased buses built on the Volvo B9TL chassis, with ADL supplying the Mark 2 body only. These buses can be recognized as they have an additional Volvo badge on the front of the bus, while those produced by Transbus/ADL only have the Alexander Dennis badge. The ADL Enviro500 body was available with this option from 2003 until 2014, even though it was only ordered by KMB/Long Win Bus and Dublin Bus (the latter without A/C). KMB, however has retired its oldest E500s as they reached their 18 year franchised life limits following the retirement of their predecessor, the Dennis Trident. ATE228 was preserved by KMB and another unit has been preserved by a restaurant.
Bravo Transport (which owns Citybus and New World First Bus), on the other hand reassigned some of its 82xx E500s to its non-franchised fleet and the training fleet as Euro IV became the minimum emissions standard under Transport Department regulations to replace older buses. Some have also been converted to open top sightseeing buses with part of the roof removed, replacing Dennis Tridents for sightseeing work. However, the oldest Enviro500s in the Bravo fleet began retiring, despite them being 2008 models. This started as Citybus 8101 was retired in late 2022 and New World First Bus 5501 also being retired in early 2023, with Bravo also starting to retire the Enviro500 fleet in both franchised and non-franchised service.
Outside of Hong Kong, the Enviro500 can be found in North America and in Aberdeen, Scotland. A demonstrator (New World First Bus 5504) was also sent to Australia, even though it did not enter the Australian market (Alexander Dennis was successful in New Zealand with the later MMC and returned to Australia in 2021 with the Enviro200 MMC). The company also tested a US-specification unit in South Korea; although it could not compete with the domestic market there.
While North American agencies were the only customers to receive first-generation left hand drive units, it became the dominant double deck bus model (with less choices available in this market and few competitors). The Enviro500 proved to be most popular with BC Transit in British Columbia. GO Transit (Toronto), on the other hand purchased 21 commuter models which operated from 2008 to 2017 on select routes. Due to height restrictions, they were later sold to a sightseeing company in British Columbia. Ottawa also tested three units in 2008 and those were later purchased by BC Transit in 2012. The buses are also found in some parts of the United States, used for transit work and also for sightseeing work, with the latter being open top with a removable roof. Most of these buses were built in the UK; with the first US-built examples being produced in 2010 for Unitrans in California. US-built Mark 2 units were built by Eldorado National in California.
Alexander Dennis also offered a LHD-only version of the Enviro500 in North America known as the "Go Anywhere" model, which has a lower height of 4.0 m to meet height clearances for most customers, also having the front from the Enviro400. This became the standard height for US and Canadian orders with the MMC.
In the UK, only one order was ever completed, originally sent to First Bus in Glasgow, Scotland. These buses have a single front door (as per most UK systems). The buses were intended to be operated on the busiest routes in Glasgow - however, the order was transferred to Aberdeen as of 2016 to replace articulated buses, then some were sent to First Kernow. As of 2024, First Group PLC has retired their Enviro500s, with them being listed for sale through their Ensignbus sales division (starting with 38201 wrapped for Truro College), where the buses have ended up with various independent operators. Since then, some of the Enviro500s have been mainly operated on school contracts and charters due to their high capacity.
For the British market, the Enviro500 was succeeded with the Enviro400 XLB (based off the Enviro400 MMC) on the Volvo B8L chassis. Despite this, ex-Dublin Bus B9TLs with Enviro500 bodywork have been reimported by smaller companies, particularly for use on school contracts with high ridership and as coach buses.
In mid-2021, Ensignbus acquired a 2004 model Mark I test unit originally numbered DD34 built to KMB specifications, which was never exported to Hong Kong. It had its rear door removed, had an interior refit, was renumbered 368, registered 68 EB and was converted to open top. Although still owned by the Newman family since Ensignbus was acquired by First Group PLC, it can be found on the company's seasonal route 68 between Leigh-On-Sea and Southend Pier when leased to First Group. This bus remains the only right hand drive Mark I outside of Hong Kong and the only one still in regular service.
Trivia[]
- The Enviro500 is the second longest standing double deck bus in the Islands after its successor, the Enviro500 MMC.
- The second generation of this bus has an unusually quiet engine sound.