First Bus has purchased 22 electric single decker buses from Alexander Dennis (ADL) and BYD UK, as the manufacturing companies announced an electric vehicle partnership.
The Scottish Government has supported the purchase through the first round of the Scottish ultra-low emission bus scheme.
ADL and BYD UK will be building the Enviro200EV buses, to be deployed in Glasgow in time for the United Nations’ COP26 climate change conference.
It comes after First Bus announced its commitment to purchasing no diesel buses after 2022 and to operate a fully zero-emission fleet by 2035.
Alexander Dennis, based in Falkirk, is a subsidiary of independent global bus manufacturer NFI Group.
It will assemble the buses in the central belt using BYD’s battery electric driveline technology.
The new electric vehicles will seat up to 40 passengers each and will be based at First’s Caledonia depot. The company has already installed the charging facilities as part of an earlier project.
Andrew Jarvis, managing director at First Bus in Scotland, said: “Cleaner air is vitally important to all of us in society and we are determined to play our part in the communities that we serve.
“In January last year, we launched the city’s first electric buses on a commercial bus route since the 1960s and we are proud that we can now build upon this with another 22 fully electric vehicles, which will replace the oldest buses in our fleet to further improve air quality in the city of Glasgow.”
Paul Davies, president and managing director at ADL, added: “COP26 will be a showcase of Britain’s commitment to fighting climate change, and First’s new electric buses will be a testament to the initiative taken by the transport group to achieve a zero-emission fleet by 2035.”
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