On this rainy day in February, TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus Company debuted the first 2 of 12 new next-generation New Flyer Xcelsior XDE60 articulated buses on the 96 B-Line in Surrey.

I managed to catch the first of the new buses, “S15003”, on a ride home from Newton Exchange and took several pictures. The second bus, “S15002”, entered service later in the day.

(Full-size photos are available on my Flickr)

Back in December of last year I posted the first report on the arrival of these buses. The bus order replaces the 11 existing, old articulated buses (delivered 18 years ago in 1998) with 12 brand new, hybrid-electric buses. As the new buses probably won’t need to be taken out of service as often as the old ones (requiring standard-size bus replacements), these buses will allow every bus running on the 96 to be articulated.

The new buses feature a hybrid diesel-electric transmission to improve energy-efficiency and solve the ride jerky-ness of plain diesel buses. Improved LED lighting is used, there are security cameras, and the seating layout is optimized – accommodating more passengers than the older buses.

As well, these buses are equipped with air-conditioning – meaning more comfortable rides during summer months, and windows that aren’t fogged in the winter.

My experience riding the new buses has been very pleasant: the new buses are fluidly smooth on Surrey’s roads and – owing to the hybrid system – are extremely quiet while they’re running. As most of the buses running in Surrey tend to be older and louder, the difference riding on these buses is like night and day.

(Additional info on the order of 21 new buses in total was posted on The Buzzer!)

TransLink launches next-gen 96 B-Line buses