Aberdeen buses to be 50% emission free following £8.1 million order
- First Aberdeen places order for 24 new electric buses for the city
This World Car Free Day (22nd September) First Aberdeen announces that it has placed a £8.1m order for 24 brand new electric buses in the latest step on its decarbonisation journey.
The new buses – which will save approximately 1,451 tonnes of CO2e per annum as they replace older diesel buses - will start to arrive in the city next year, with the full fleet of 24 expected to be in place by Spring 2024. Following the introduction of a double-decker hydrogen-powered fleet to Aberdeen last year, the arrival of these new buses will see 50% of First Aberdeen’s buses go completely emission free.
The new vehicles are being supplied by Yutong and will be fitted with market-leading lithium iron phosphate batteries, which have a range of over 370km on a single three-hour charge. Passengers can also expect greater levels of comfort as the buses are fully air conditioned and have low noise levels.
Ahead of their arrival, work will begin on Aberdeen’s King Street depot to install rapid charging points to support the new buses. Work to transform the depot into an EV charging hub is expected to take 12 months.
The significant order has been supported by Transport Scotland through its Scottish Zero Emission Bus (ScotZEB) funding – a challenge fund to support the industry’s swift transition to zero emission vehicles and infrastructure.
Duncan Cameron, Managing Director at First Bus Scotland, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the progress that we’ve made in Aberdeen and these new buses will make a significant impact to our mission to be emission free by 2035.
“What we hope will make an even more sizeable impact on emissions and air quality in Aberdeen is people’s decision to choose bus. These state-of-the-art new EVs will offer a more pleasant journey to passengers, and we hope that they’ll encourage more in the city to leave their cars behind in favour of bus travel.
“We recently launched our Modal Shift campaign to put across the message that, with just some small changes to our daily routines, together we have the opportunity transform our city’s congestion, air and noise pollution levels.”
The Modal Shift campaign supports First Bus’s efforts to provide environmentally conscious, cost-effective travel across Scotland. Through the campaign, First Bus is looking to encourage car users to tackle common pain points associated with car travel including pollution and excessive expenditure.
Ian Downie, Head of Yutong Sales UK, said: “With over 133,000 zero emission vehicle in service, we are delighted that First Bus has chosen our tried, tested and proven product for operation in Aberdeen.”
More information about First Bus’ Modal Shift campaign can be found at firstbus.co.uk/carfree.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Notes to editors
Media Enquiries
For further information, please contact Craig Dennett, PR Manager for First Bus Scotland, at craig.dennett@firstbus.co.uk
About First Bus
First Bus is one of the UK’s largest bus operators. Making journeys easier for our customers, we were the first national bus operator to accept contactless card payments across all of our services and our First Bus App is voted ‘best in class’ amongst UK bus operators. Our most recent investments are in new, state-of-the-art buses across our key networks.
We work proactively with our local authority partners, making a positive impact on air quality, tackling congestion and improving customer experience. We are focused on First Bus becoming a leader in the transition to a low-carbon future and are committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035; we have pledged not to purchase any new diesel buses after December 2022. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup.
First Bus is an equal opportunity employer.
First Bus is an excellent place to work with opportunities for a rewarding career.
We are committed to equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion. We believe diverse experiences and attitudes help us better understand the needs of our customers.
For more information on First Bus: news-scot.firstbus.co.uk