Alexander ALX500
The Alexander ALX500 was a low-floor double-decker bus body built by Alexander in Falkirk, Scotland between 1997 and 2002.
The Alexander ALX500 was fitted to Dennis Trident 3 and Volvo Super Olympian chassis, and came in lengths of 10.6, 11.3 and 12 metres. The ALX500-bodied buses were sold new to Citybus, Kowloon Motor Bus, Long Win Bus, New World First Bus and Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation in Hong Kong. Due to the climate there, all of them were fitted with air conditioning systems, and as a result lacked a rear window on the lower deck. The extra length of the buses mean the seating capacities were near the 100 mark for the 12.0 metre variant.
Alexander built three prototype ALX500 bodies for prototype Trident 3 chassis. The first prototype, built in 1995, had an Alexander R-Type front fitted as a temporary measure, whilst the other two had the standard ALX range front design. Production of the ALX500 body was started later in 1997 on Trident 3 chassis, with two examples exhibited in Coach & Bus '97 in Birmingham; but there were some minor changes in appearance, for example the exit door was moved rearward. The prototype with the R-Type front was later sold to the UK newspaper The Sun, and converted to open top as a promotional vehicle. It has since been shipped to Hong Kong. Production for the ALX500 on Volvo Super Olympian chassis, started in 1998.
When TransBus International was formed in 2001, the Alexander ALX500 body replaced the standard height, right hand drive version of the Duple Metsec DM5000 body which was duplicated with the ALX500 design. In late 2002, the ALX500 body was superseded by the TransBus Enviro500.
All Alexander ALX500 bodied buses are progressively retired by March 2023.