Delivery of the 109 new vehicles has started, forming part of a 380-strong fleet providing transport for the sporting event
First Bus has announced an investment of £20m in 109 new vehicles which will carry passengers for the first time at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The new buses, which are currently being delivered, will form part of a fleet of 380 which will move members of the Games Family, including athletes, officials, media and sponsors, and in addition operate specific shuttle and Park & Ride spectator services. These services will be operated by First Games Transport, the same division of First which looked after its services for the London 2012 Olympics. They will augment First Glasgow’s network across the city.
The new fleet consists of Wrightbus StreetLites and ADL Enviro400s, and will sport bespoke Glasgow 2014/First Bus branding which emphasises the company’s ‘Personal Best’ campaign.
Two of the new buses were unveiled at First Glasgow’s £20m new headquarters and depot on Cathcart Road in the south side of Glasgow. The site, which has been named ‘Caledonia’ by First Glasgow staff, will become partly operational for the first time during Glasgow 2014. Although not due to be officially opened until November, First factored in plans to the construction schedule to enable it to operate up to 280 vehicles during the Games, around 75% of the capacity of the 10 acre site when fully operational.
Andrew Scholey from First, who is heading up the company’s Glasgow 2014 spectator and Games Family services, said: “The arrival of our new vehicles is a key milestone as we put in place our final preparations for the Games. I’m delighted that we’ve made this investment and that the vehicles sporting our Personal Best branding look so striking and so impressive.”
“We’ve been planning for Glasgow 2014 for over a year. We’ll be operating thousands of journeys over the course of the Games with our shuttle services at some venues at certain times operating as often as every 20 seconds. We’ve got a great team in place and are really looking forward to it.”
More than 700 bus drivers will travel to Glasgow to help deliver First’s shuttle, Park & Ride and Games Family services. Around 200 First drivers from across the company’s UK operations, including Plymouth, Bristol, Norwich, Manchester, Leeds and Livingston have volunteered to drive at the Games and will spend between one and five weeks in Glasgow. A further 500 drivers have been sub-contracted from other bus and coach companies, such as Reading Buses and Translink.
