THE FIRST full-electric, zero-emission bus has taken to the roads of Warwickshire.
National Grid, the UK’s largest distributor of gas and electricity, has contracted Stagecoach to run the electric bus on a dedicated service for its staff.
It will run between Leamington town centre, the railway station, and the National Grid site at Warwick Technology Park.
The bus, which runs solely on electricity, takes around four hours to charge and can then run up to 370km before needing recharging. It will cover 50,000km a year on the route. The Yutong Electric bus also allows passengers to charge devices through USB ports fitted at each seat.
Mark Whitelocks, managing director of Stagecoach Midlands, said: “We are delighted to be working with National Grid to provide the first fully-electric bus for Warwickshire and continue helping National Grid and our region travel more sustainably.
“We are proud of how we have invested in new, cleaner buses with ever improving emission standards in recent years. This is our first step towards an even greater movement to cleaner energy. We are committed to developing this further in the coming years, with our involvement in the Coventry all-electric bus town project, which will have wider benefits across Warwickshire.
Lorna McAtear, UK fleet manager at National Grid, said: “National Grid has an important role in enabling the rollout of future clean transport, so it’s important we keep leading the way with our own transport and fleet. It’s great to have Warwickshire’s first electric bus at National Grid, so we can encourage and support colleagues to reduce their impact on the environment too.”
Stagecoach has been contracted to operate the contract for five years.
