The £4.3m 26 vehicle fleet features leather seating, free WiFi and route branding
First Aberdeen has unveiled 26 new Wrightbus StreetLite Micro-Hybrid buses, representing a £4.3m investment.
The vehicles are operating on routes 3 and 23, which First Aberdeen has renamed Sunshine Service 23 and Thistle Service 3. The new buses sport eye-catching new Sunshine and Thistle branding.
First said the inspiration behind re-naming Thistle Service 3 was to give it a real Scottish flavour, while Sunshine was chosen as the First Aberdeen creative team claim there isn’t a better place in Scotland than Aberdeen when the sun shines.
The new buses come equipped with leather seats, free WiFi and extra room for wheelchairs and passengers with buggies. Each new vehicle is also fitted with energy saving technology including a braking power system which re-uses energy to power other parts of the bus. The Micro-Hybrid buses are also lighter than a conventional single deck bus and, together with advanced engine technology, are claimed to be around 30% more fuel efficient.
Duncan Cameron, Managing Director of First Aberdeen, said: “The arrival of these state of the art brand new buses is great news for our customers.
“Micro-Hybrids are one of the most fuel efficient buses in the world and we are one of the first companies to take delivery of them. The fresh new interiors, the complementary WiFi, leather seats and our brilliant Thistle and Sunshine branding will, I’ve no doubt, be a big hit with passengers.
“In the last two years we’ve invested a total of £7.8m in 49 brand new vehicles. We’ve therefore replaced around a third of our fleet and recognising the importance and popularity of keeping people connected, around one third of our buses are fitted with free WiFi.
“Our strategy at First Aberdeen is to continue improving services so that we can attract more people on board. Investment in new buses and installing free WiFi are part of a range of initiatives which is resulting in passenger growth. Our Platinum services and the introduction of M-Ticketing (using mobile phones as bus tickets) for example have helped attract more people on to our buses.”
Thistle Service 3 operates every 10 minutes (Monday-Friday) and links Heathryfold, Kittybrewster with the city centre and the ARI and Sheddocksley. Sunshine Service 23 operates at the same frequency and links Mastrick, the ARI, Rosemount with the city centre and Wellington Road, Tullos and Cove.
