A few months ago I complained to TFL about the noise of the Volvo buses
on the 76 route - they are deafening, particularly in summer and I
reckon they are well beyond acceptability in an urban setting. I did get
a reply (below), which shows they know there's a big problem and I very
much doubt that the buses meet the lower standard, and even so, this is
still far too loud for narrow residential streets.

E.

Thank you for your email regarding the Volvo buses. I am sorry of you
have been disturbed by buses near to where you live.
TfL has received noise complaints regarding a small number of Volvo B7TL
double deck buses operating in central London. Most routes have not
attracted complaints and, where they have, most have come from residents
within a few areas of London.
It should be noted that Volvo B7TL buses are legal, approved by the
Department of Transport and meet all current European Union standards.
Transport for London sets a lower noise limit under test conditions for
new buses entering service than the European Union standard.* This
supports the aspirations of the Mayor¹s Environmental and Noise
Strategies to ensure that residents are affected as little as possible
whilst still maintaining an efficient transport network for Londoners.
TfL took concerns and claims about excess noise and vibration seriously,
meeting with complainants and their representatives while investigating
claims of unacceptable noise.
It found the principal issue to be the air-cooling fan system which, on
400 Volvo vehicles in London, did not appear to be effectively
regulated. This resulted in a tested vehicle recording 92 dB(A) during
proving ground tests with all ancillary systems including the fan in
operation.
TfL instructed Volvo to develop solutions to:
·****** Reduce engine cooling fan noise under test conditions to a
level in line with non-Volvo buses.
·****** Reduce effects from low frequency noise generated.
To prevent new vehicles entering service with similar issues, TfL
updated its new vehicle specifications to cover anciliary noise and
applied this to all tenders that had not yet been awarded. [Note: The
legal drive-by noise limit does not require vehicles to be driven with
ancillary systems in operation.] This was in addition to the following
existing standards:
€ a)***** All new vehicles must undertake a legal drive by test and
achieve a 3dB(A) reduction over the EU legal requirement. Thus, in the
case of a double deck a result of no more than 77dB(A) is required.
€ b)***** All new vehicles must undertake a legal drive by test at
full acceleration and achieve a minimum 79dB(A) result.
A further test is now required under conditions a) and b) with all
auxillary equipment operating (including engine fans) and achieve a
result of no more than 82dB(A) and 84dB(A) respectively.
Volvo Bus conducted a modification programme to all 400 buses from the
affected batch.* This programme involved changes to the software of the
cooling fan and has now been completed.
TfL conducted tests on a modified vehicle which had entered the fleet
under previous vehicle specifications at the independent Millbrook
Proving Ground test centre to allow for accurate and repeatable
testing.*This testing showed that the maximum noise emission was reduced
from 92 to 85 dB(A). This is comparable to the operational noise of
other existing manufacturers¹ vehicles under test conditions and meets
TfL¹s latest noise requirements for new buses.
TfL currently believes that Volvo has now met the requirements as set
out above (see Œour investigation¹) in terms of reducing engine noise
and low frequency noise associated with the cooling fan noise.
We do not believe there are any further faults with Volvo B7TL buses
which cause excessive noise. There are no further plans to make further
modifications and all buses continue to meet legal requirements.
Existing, as opposed to new, vehicles were not required to meet current
vehicle standards but TfL considered 85 dB(A) to be an acceptable noise
level for existing vehicles with ancillary systems in operation.
We will continue to monitor the noise levels of Volvo and all other
types of passenger vehicle and are committed to minimising pollution of
all kinds.* Trials and development of vehicle types with lower emissions
of all kinds continue.
I hope this explains our position on this matter. Thank you for ytaking
the time to contact us.
Kind regards
Eleanor Stanhope
Customer Services