First Bus has appointed a decarbonisation director as it makes strides towards having a fully zero emission fleet by 2035.
Faizan Ahmad, who joined the business from Amazon at the end of June, will spearhead the environmental, decarbonisation, and fleet product development initiatives at First Bus, and report into Chief Sustainability Officer, Isabel McAllister.
He brings with him a wealth of decarbonisation experience from across multiple sectors and at Amazon he led Europe-wide EV charging strategy workstreams for the company.
First Bus has pledged not to purchase any new diesel buses after December 2022 and aims to be completely zero emissions across all operations by 2050.
Last month, the operator began work to refurbish its Norwich Roundtree Way depot that includes charging infrastructure, as it prepares to receive 70 new electric buses between Autumn 2023 and March 2024.
By working with Norfolk County Council, an investment of £14.7m has been secured from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) fund, alongside significant capital investment of around £22.5m from First Bus for the project.
Ahmad said: “I am excited to be joining First Bus to help the organisation deliver a very exciting and industry-leading agenda in the decarbonisation of public transport in the UK.
“The bus industry has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change how people travel and encourage more people to take public transport as we transition to zero emissions.
“This is a crucial time for the transport sector, as both employees and customers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their travel choices.”
