Stagecoach has announced that it will introduce the UK’s first all-electric city bus networks as part of its drive to deliver a net zero UK bus fleet by 2035.
Plans are underway to see one of Britain’s biggest bus operators make its city bus networks in Inverness and Perth all electric from the end of 2022 and early 2023 respectively.
New e-buses will run across routes that have previously operated with largely diesel fleets, helping to lower emissions and improve air quality in the two Scottish cities.
Stagecoach is introducing a £13.9m fleet of 38 e-buses, partly funded by the Scottish government, across Inverness and Perth through the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), designed to support the transition to zero-emission technologies as part of Scotland’s overall target to achieve net zero by 2045.
The e-buses in Perth, which will be introduced in early 2023, will be made up of a £4.8m fleet of 13 vehicles, including seven single-deck, five midibuses and one double-decker. They will add to the fleet of nine zero-emission buses introduced in the city last December.
The £9.1m investment in Inverness will see a fleet of 25 electric midibuses introduced from late 2022 across routes 1-9, replacing the city’s diesel bus fleet.
New zero-emission buses are also being introduced over the coming months on Stagecoach networks across other areas in Scotland including Aberdeen, Ayr, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Kilmarnock as part of the ScotZEB plans.
Over the past 14 months, Stagecoach has rolled out 52 new e-buses across its networks in Scotland as part of the Scottish government’s Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS), with a further six e-buses introduced across the west of Scotland in partnership with SP Energy Networks.
Scottish minister for transport Jenny Gilruth said: “Stagecoach have been a valued partner in our Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce. They understand that to respond to the climate emergency, we all need to accelerate the transition to a zero emission bus fleet as soon as possible.
“I look forward to seeing these latest electric buses soon, which I know continue to be welcomed by customers across Scotland.”
The funding announced earlier this year as part of the ScotZEB initiative follows two rounds of funding under the predecessor Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme in September 2020 and March 2021.
The funding stream is designed to encourage the market to agree and implement new and innovative ways to finance zero-emission buses.
