Leicester City Council has rolled out a fleet of 11 new all-electric buses across its three Park & Ride routes. The investment is the first phase of a £50m project to operate electric buses across a third of the city’s network by 2024.
The Yutong buses have been provided by Pelican Bus and Coach, and this week began operating the routes linking Meynell’s Gorse, Birstall and Enderby. The fleet will be charged overnight from a brand new charging station at the Coalville depot of Roberts Travel Group, which runs Leicester’s Park & Ride services jointly with the County Council. The infrastructure has been installed in partnership with Zenobe Energy and a single overnight charge will provide each bus with sufficient range for a full day’s operation.
In addition to the new Park & Ride fleet, four new electric buses will be introduced on the city’s Hospital Hopper routes in autumn, and a further three will operate a brand new, free of charge city centre shuttle service from autumn 2022.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby says, “Thanks to our successful bid for government funding through the Transforming Cities Fund, we’ve been able to make this significant investment into sustainable public transport. We know that if we are to persuade people to leave their cars outside the city centre, we need to offer them attractive and affordable travel alternatives.
“These Greenline buses are clean, green and comfortable – and the more people use them, the more we can reduce congestion and improve air quality in the city.”
