Two new pure-electric buses, jointly supplied to First Glasgow by Alexander Dennis and BYD Europe, have entered service in Scotland’s biggest city.
The two BYD ADL Enviro200EV single deck buses have been funded by SP Energy Networks and will contribute to cleaner air by converting the M3 bus service to full electric, emission-free operation.
Among those who will benefit from the improved air quality are children at St Joseph’s Primary School, who were the first passengers on the inaugural journey to a launch event attended by Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, and Anna Richardson, City Convener for Sustainability & Carbon Reduction at Glasgow City Council.
The introduction of the zero-emission electric buses was made possible by the award of £1.5 million in funding from SP Energy Networks’ Green Economy Fund, established by the electricity network operator to support the Scottish Government’s ambitious green targets to boost local economic growth, improve air quality in Scottish cities and to expedite a better future for all.
First Glasgow’s has installed 22 charging points at its Caledonia Depot to support the buses and in anticipation of further investment in electric buses.
Andrew Jarvis, Managing Director of First Glasgow, said, “We are delighted to launch the city’s first conversion of a commercial bus service to fully electric operation. The whole team at First Glasgow are thrilled to be teamed up with SP Energy Networks in order to bring these state-of-the-art zero-emission vehicles to the people of Glasgow and the M3 route. Every customer journey on the route will save around 2kg of CO2 compared with driving on your own in an average car, making bus the best choice in reducing the impact on the planet.”
Frank Mitchell, CEO at SP Energy Networks, added, “Glasgow has ambitious plans to be the UK’s first net-zero carbon city by 2030, but for that to happen, there will be big changes across the city. The introduction of this new electric bus technology which will ultimately improve air quality and noise pollution in the city centre and other communities. We are very proud to be supporting this historic moment for Glasgow by fully funding the infrastructure and vehicles for its first completely electric bus route since the 1960s.”
