First Bus to invest over £10.5m in green transport for Aberdeen with ScotZEB funding from Transport Scotland
- First Aberdeen has been awarded a share in approved ScotZEB funding and will deliver 24 new electric buses across the city.
- First Bus has committed to spend a further £16.4m across its King Street depot in Aberdeen and Scotstoun depot in Glasgow.
- 30% of First Aberdeen’s fleet will be made up of zero-emission vehicles by Spring 2024.
- First Bus will future-proof its Aberdeen depot with installation of a new electrification infrastructure.
First Bus is delighted to announce that over £10.5million will be invested in new fully electric and zero emission vehicles for Aberdeen. These new buses are scheduled to be introduced to the Aberdeen bus network by Spring 2024, thanks to a successful bid in Transport Scotland’s Scottish Zero Emission Bus (ScotZEB) Challenge funding.
In total, the successful bid has awarded First Aberdeen and First Glasgow a combined £18.6m, and First Bus has committed to spend a further £16.4m across its King Street depot in Aberdeen and Scotstoun depot in Glasgow. The investment will see First Aberdeen’s zero-emission fleet being bolstered with 24 brand new electric vehicles, meaning it will be made up of 30% zero emission vehicles.
First Aberdeen will receive 24 single deck plug-in pure electric vehicles which will operate on existing local registered bus services with Aberdeen and will replace the most polluting 24 vehicles from the fleet.
The approval of ScotZEB funding will also see major infrastructure developments across First Bus Aberdeen with the King Street depot set to receive significant investment in accelerating their electrification, helping to future-proof the depot as First Bus continues towards its commitment to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035.
In 2020, First Bus also pledged not to purchase any new diesel buses after December 2022. This commitment goes above and beyond current regulations, solidifying First Bus’s position as a leader in the transition to a low-carbon future.
Duncan Cameron, Managing Director for First Bus Scotland, said, ““Today marks another major milestone in our sustainable travel roadmap with the approval of funding from the Scottish Government allowing us to expand our electric bus infrastructure across the country.
“We are delighted to have been awarded this funding and we are proud to be continuing our journey towards achieving a 100% zero emission fleet by 2035. Aberdeen is where our business was founded, and this investment will further enhance its growing number of zero-emission buses within the fleet.
“Our King Street depot remains a key part of our future plans as we build towards a zero-emission future and this investment in vehicles and infrastructure is proof of our commitment to the Aberdeen community.
“This announcement will also see huge benefits for our customers as it allows First Bus to offer even greener and quieter bus travel to thousands of new customers across Aberdeen.”
For more information on First Bus: https://news-scot.firstbus.co.uk/
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Notes to editors
Notes to editors
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.