To mark Clean Air Day on 15 June, First Bus announced its investment in a new purpose-built consumer electric vehicle (EV) charging hub at its Summercourt depot in Cornwall. In what the operator believes is a first of its kind move for the bus industry, the new Summercourt hub will see it provide the local community with direct access to rapid electric charging infrastructure for electric cars and vans.
The new ‘turn up and charge’ hub will offer eight rapid chargers on a pay-as-you-go basis. First says it will provide the local area with key electrical charging infrastructure, and hopes it will also help more people make the switch to electric transport to improve local air quality. The site is easily accessible in a key location on the main A30 tourist route into Cornwall, and could help to ease holiday makers’ EV range anxiety as they travel through the county.
The chargers will also be available for local businesses to use following the successful pilot of business-to-business charging provision by First Bus in Glasgow and Leicester, where companies such as DPD and Police Scotland benefit from the use of the operator’s infrastructure for their EV fleets.
Preparation works are now under way on site, and it is anticipated that the hub will be fully operational and open to the public later this summer. Its eight rapid chargers should be able to fully charge an average-sized family car in under 30 mins.
First Bus UK’s Chief Sustainability Offer Isabel McAllister said: “We’re proud to be leading the way with this industry first for consumer electric charging. We want to help the communities we serve with their own transition to zero emissions transport solutions. We believe this is the right thing to do. By future-proofing sites like Summercourt, we are proud to be progressing our net zero journey and investing in a greener future for our local communities.”
