First Bus has been awarded over £4m as part of Transport Scotland’s Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme (SULEB), to help pay some of the costs of purchasing 22 new fully electric buses for the Glasgow bus network.
The new buses will be manufactured by Alexander Dennis at its Scottish base in Falkirk.
First Glasgow is also investing over £5m into the project, while Scottish Power Energy Networks will contribute over £300,000 from its Green Economy Fund to go toward the electrical infrastructure needed to charge the vehicles at First Glasgow’s Caledonia Depot.
First said both the 22 new fully electric vehicles and the relevant infrastructure will be completed and ready to go on the Glasgow network by autumn 2021.
Andrew Jarvis, managing director for First Glasgow, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this funding.
“In January this year, we launched the city’s first electric buses on a commercial bus route since the trams and trolleybuses of the past 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.”
First Bus recently announced its commitment to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035 as well as pledging not to purchase any new diesel buses after December 2022.
