It was a big deal for local operators. Call them microscopic
then.
MAN/STK knows that and has that as their selling point on their
marketing material.
MAN's three-door concept bus design can be replicated by any
other bus manufacturers if that design is not patented. LTA does
want to keep prices competitive.
Every bus manufacturer I know who are interested in supplying
buses to LTA claims to be working towards lowering overall costs. I
can't divulge any details because the big tender is coming up, but
what I can say is differentiation under Euro VI won't be as great
as you think.
Who knows, they might rely on brand differentiation and
positioning because social media is currently all over it.
If LTA intends to procure concept buses with an extra door at
the rear of each bus, the purchasing costs of this kind of buses
are likely to be high.
Take Enviro500 concept bus as an example. What ADL has to do is
shifting the driveline from the near side to the off side.
Moreover, since euro 6 engines usually operate at a higher
temperature than their predecessors do, ADL has to find enough
spaces to equip larger radiators. These imply that the cost of
developing a new chassis is likely to be high and so does the
retail price of this kind of bus.
Even if buses of this kind are ordered in bulk, as the case of
New Routemaster suggests, the average purchasing cost is unlikely
to decrease considerably.
When it comes to MAN A95 with 3 doors, despite no major
modifications of the chassis required, it may not necessarily imply
that the retail price of the production batch of 3-door MAN A95 (if
any) will be low.
It is because bus manufacturers, like ADL, usually charge higher
for the design and the manufacture of tailor-made buses, like
Enviro400 City.
Although Enviro400 City and E40H MMC share the same driveline,
the retail price of the former one is believed to be higher than
that of the latter one.
If LTA wants to improve the layout of buses with cost
minimisation, I think purchasing 12.8m double deckers with a large
standing area may help.