Work is underway on two major projects in the south-west of England as part of First’s move towards a zero-emission fleet
First West of England has started work on two projects to electrify bus depots in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare. Construction equipment has begun arriving at its Weston-super-Mare depot ahead of a £14.9million scheme which will see the transformation of the site and the arrival of 24 new electric buses on the town’s network next year.
In addition, £44 million is being invested in electrifying the operator’s Hengrove depot in Bristol alongside launching 74 electric buses on the city’s network. The Hengrove transformation is planned to get underway at the end of next month.
Work at both depots, which is being carried out by construction teams from engineering specialists NG Bailey at Hengrove and Magnus Construction Group at Weston-super-Mare, is expected to be completed by March 2025, with the electric buses arriving soon after. As well as supplying the sites with increased power, the projects will see gantries installed which will distribute power to charge the new buses. The depots will also provide facilities for local companies to charge their electric vehicles.
First West of England Managing Director Doug Claringbold said: “This week is a real ground-breaking moment for the West of England, as we see the first signs of a new electric, zero-emission era for bus travel in our region.
These will be the first electric buses we welcome into our West of England fleet, providing 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 £50m into this project, which will be our biggest in this region for decades, and supports First Bus’ commitment to have a zero-emission fleet by 2035.”
The electrification programme has been made possible thanks to partnerships between First West of England and the West of England Combined Authority and North Somerset Council, which together secured a total of almost £9m of funding through the Zero Emissions Bus Regional Areas 2 (ZEBRA2) project.
North Somerset Council’s Passenger Transport Service Manager Carl Nicholson said: “The council is looking forward to seeing the arrival of a modern fleet of electric buses in our region, building on the success of the Bus Service Improvement Plan and helping us to achieve our ambitious goals to decarbonise transport, whilst making the bus an attractive environmental alternative form of transport for our residents.”
