Go-Ahead has signed a three-year extension to its Michelin Effitires tyre management contract.
Michelin says the deal with one of the UK’s largest providers of public transport was secured due to the quality of its products and high standards of service.
As part of the new agreement Michelin will produce annual reports on how the tyre policy is helping Go-Ahead meet key sustainability criteria, including a reduction in raw material usage, waste and CO2 emissions.
The new deal will cover about 99 per cent of Go-Ahead’s expanding 6,000-strong bus fleet, operating from more than 50 depots around the country, with the Effitires contract offering outsourced tyre procurement, management and a predictable tyre budget linked to fleet activity.
Go-Ahead will utilise Michelin’s team of tyre management experts working together with its own in-house workshop technicians to ensure its fleet stays on the road and hits targets for safety, reliability, tyre longevity and regulatory compliance.
Also, Michelin will fit mainly urban bus tyres across the fleet, including the new X InCity EV Z – Michelin’s first range of bus tyres specifically designed for electric vehicles.
Jim Collins, Group Chief Engineer, Go-Ahead, said: “We currently have nearly 300 EVs across the group – with the majority working in London – but we expect that to increase quite dramatically over the next few years.
“We have a strategy to have a zero-emission fleet by 2035 and electric and hydrogen vehicles are obviously going to play a prominent part in that, so to have a tyre designed specifically for EVs is hugely beneficial.”
