74 fully electric buses coming to West Country network

Dozens of brand new fully electric buses will be offering rides to passengers across the West of England from this summer, following a multi million investment from First Bus and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

Seventy four of the brand new buses have been paid for with £37 million from First and £6.6 million from WECA. They have all been painted bright green and branded WESTbus, in a bid to create a new brand of regional public transport alongside the WESTlink on-demand minibus service, WESTbikes and WESTscoots.

Dan Norris, the Mayor of the West of England, said: “Cutting-edge, zero-emission buses will help attract more passengers onto the region’s buses and cut carbon.

"Transport on our roads makes up around 40 per cent of all our carbon emissions; we have to hurry and move from petrol and diesel to cleaner solutions.

"These new buses will help us follow our green plan to decarbonise our transport network."

Doug Claringbold, the Managing Director for First Bus in the West of England, said: “This summer we will reach a ground-breaking moment for Bristol, as we see the first signs of a new electric, zero emission era for bus travel.

"The 74 electric buses arriving within the next few months will provide not only a comfier, quieter and smoother ride for customers, but also helping us to deliver a more reliable service and, importantly, bus travel that is even better for the environment.

“We’re proud as a company to be investing more than £37 million into this project in Bristol, which will be our biggest in the city for decades, and supports First Bus’ commitment to have a zero-emissions fleet by 2035.”

The announcement comes a day after it was confirmed more than 100,000 people have signed up for a free bus pass through WECA's Birthday Bus scheme.

The scheme allows residents across Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to apply for a free bus pass for the duration of their birthday month.

There's more about the Birthday Bus scheme and details on how you can apply for your own pass, via this link.

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