A further 50 vehicles are expected to join the West of England fleet over the coming months
As the Bristol European Green Capital year gets underway, First has unveiled its fleet of four low carbon certified Wrightbus StreetLite micro hybrid buses.
The company is also in the process of changing part of the external design on its vehicles in the city, adding the Bristol Green Capital logo to the side of all of its buses. The logo will replace, in many instances, the ‘West of England’ name which has been emblazoned on the side of the operator’s fleet since the livery was changed in 2012.
First currently has 28 StreetLite micro hybrid buses in its West of England fleet (21 of which are in Bristol). A further 50 low emission buses (39 double-deck and 11 single-deck) are expected to be welcomed into the company’s West of England fleet in the coming months (39 of which are expected to be used in Bristol).
In addition to the new Streetlite micro hybrid buses, the company also plans to upgrade 31 of its existing buses in Bristol to fit thermal management technology to the exhaust systems (to optimise the efficient reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions) and retro-fit micro hybrid engine systems to the vehicles, which like the Streetlite vehicles, will help harness energy lost while breaking, powering electrical systems instead, and thus saving fuel and reducing carbon emissions.
This work is being made possible following a grant from the Department of Transport – secured as a result of partnership working between First, Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council.
James Freeman, Managing Director of First West of England, said: “These state-of-the-art micro hybrid buses are great news for our customers, the city and the wider environment more generally. Micro hybrids are some of the most fuel efficient buses in the world, producing significantly less carbon dioxide emissions than conventional buses.
“It’s also great that we have so much other investment going into our local fleet – with older vehicles being retrofitted to the same micro hybrid standard, and some more brand new buses expected in the course of the financial year.
“As a major sponsor of Bristol Green Capital it’s important that we do what we can to bridge the environmental gap, and we’re doing just that by investing in, and bringing to the city new, low emission vehicles. Our work in this area continues too, with us set to experiment and trial other new technologies this year too.
“To further underline our commitment to the Green Capital year we have substantially changed the branding on our buses. This helps raise awareness of the Green Capital year, and similarly gives us an even stronger local identity.”
