First Bus has placed an order for 169 Yutong electric buses with its UK importer Pelican Bus and Coach.
The mix of single and double deckers will be delivered to depots in Taunton, Weston-super-Mare, Basildon and Hengrove in Bristol over the next 16 months – introducing electric buses for the first time at those sites.
The order includes E10, E12 and U11DD models as part of an £89m investment by First Bus in zero emission vehicles and infrastructure across four of its regions. First Bus already operates Yutong EVs in its Aberdeen, Leeds and Cymru (Wales) operations.
In partnership with local authorities, additional funding of £16m has been secured through the latest round of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Zero Emission Bus Regional Area scheme.
At least 18% of its overall UK bus fleet will be zero emission at the completion of its existing projects, a significant step in the company’s pledge to operate a net zero fleet by 2035. By that time, First Bus is expected to operate more than 800 zero emission vehicles and have charging or refuelling infrastructure at 16 depots across the UK.
Andrew Jarvis, Chief Operating Officer for First Bus, said: “We’ve worked tirelessly alongside our Local Authority partners to get to this point with the projects and look forward to getting these vehicles out in service for customers in the months to come.”