An initial fleet of six Yutong buses will upgrade Leicester’s Orbital service, with further works scheduled to upgrade road infrastructure
Leicester’s new Orbital service, which the city says is the UK’s longest electric circular bus route, has been designed to connect estates and suburbs on the city’s outer ring road and beyond with locations including shopping centres, hospitals, employment areas and other key transport infrastructure.
The latest addition to the city’s Greenlines electric network, it is the fifth new service to be launched using the new council-owned electric buses. Operated in partnership with Centrebus, the project also includes a brand-new electric bus charging facility at the firm’s Thurmaston depot. The new buses and charging infrastructure have been partially funded with £1.21m from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme and combine to make the first ZEBRA funded project to be delivered in the country.
Launched at an event on 13 October at the Birstall park & ride site, the new service replaces the Circleline route 40 and will come into operation on 24 October. The 30-mile route will operate from Leicester General Hospital and run in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions.
Leicester’s deputy city mayor for transport, clean air and climate emergency Councillor Adam Clarke said: “The Orbital route is a very well-used service, and switching over to the latest electric vehicles means another significant part of the city’s public transport system will now benefit from cleaner, more modern buses.
“Launching the Leicester Buses Partnership back in April has meant we’ve been able to work very closely with the city’s bus operators to bring forward projects like this to make top-notch public transport accessible to more people while being committed to tackle emissions and the climate emergency. The Orbital joins the Park & Ride and Hospital Hopper as part of the Leicester City Council-owned Greenlines electric buses fleet, helping to fill gaps and connect the commercial network for the public benefit whilst also helping to meet our net zero ambition.
“These services will be complemented by a free electric city centre circular service early next year. As the first authority in the country to launch a service under the ZEBRA programme, once again we’ve shown that when the money is there, Leicester delivers.”
David Brookes, Director of Centrebus, added: “We have worked closely with our colleagues at the city council to introduce these state-of-the-art electric buses to the newly-named Orbital route. They’re the first electric buses in the country to hit the road funded through the Government ZEBRA scheme which is testament to the speed at which the city council and our fellow partners have delivered this project.
“Together with the upgraded bus stop infrastructure and additional real-time information displays across the city, these buses will not only improve air quality but will encourage people to leave their cars at home and use public transport. We’re proud to be part of the Greenlines network and the wider Leicester Buses project.”
University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) Director of Estates, Facilities and Sustainability Michael Simpson added: “The Orbital service is a great opportunity to work with partners and provide colleagues and patients an additional sustainable travel option to access health care in Leicester. The service links to our Hospital Hopper service and is another step towards improving public transport in the city as well as supporting UHL on its mission to be greener by connecting our communities through greener, cleaner travel.”
Leicester City Council has invested £2.11m in the project, with the aim of removing a predicted 177 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and reducing operational costs by over £60,000 a year. The first phase of improvements for the service includes the six new electric buses, alongside which there is also over £10million of planned bus priority works in future phases, subject to funding bids to Government. If successful in securing the funding, by the end of the four phases the route will use 20 electric buses running every 15 minutes.
Steven Meersman, co-founder and Director of electric fleet and battery storage specialist Zenobē, which is also involved in the Orbital bus project, said: “We’re delighted to be collaborating with Centrebus and Leicester City Council on the first ZEBRA-funded project to be delivered in the UK. It’s an important step towards the decarbonisation of the transport industry and towards country-wide net zero goals – and it will make a tangible difference to air quality for the residents of Leicester.
“By delivering the supporting charging infrastructure and charging optimisation software, we’re proud to be helping minimise the costs of operating an electric fleet and to be supporting environmentally-sustainable transport options on this important route around the city.”
Ian Downie, Head of Yutong at bus supplier Pelican Bus & Coach, added: “We are honoured to supply the very first ZEBRA-funded zero-emission vehicles in the UK to Leicester. Our fully air-conditioned Yutong vehicles are the most efficient single-deck buses in the UK. The products are tried, tested and proven with enhanced passenger-centric features and bring class leading comfort to Leicester.”
