More double deck eco vehicles to arrive this summer
20 new low emission hybrid buses will join the Lothian Buses fleet this summer, the operator has announced.
The buses have a Volvo B5LH chassis and a Wrightbus Gemini 3 body and are the first to be ‘stretched’ to this length. The buses were purchased with support from the Scottish Government’s Green Bus Fund which provided £1.5 million of funding as part of its scheme to encourage the rollout of low carbon emission buses across Scotland.
Lothian Buses currently operate 65 hybrid buses on routes through Edinburgh and the Lothians. The new vehicles will be used on city centre services, with an aim to reduce carbon emissions and other local air pollutants.
The purchase of the vehicles is part of the company’s strategy to lower the environmental impact of all its business activities and in particular, vehicle emissions through the introduction of cutting edge technology.
Jim McFarlane, General Manager and Chair of Lothian Buses, said: “We’re proud at Lothian Buses that our average bus age is five years old, our continued investment in our fleet, and in particular vehicles that have low emissions technology is just one part of our environmental strategy. The support from the Scottish Green Bus Fund is key to the continuation of greening our fleet, helping improve air quality in the city.”
Derek Mackay MSP, Transport Minister, said: “This project is a great example of government and the bus industry working in partnership to increase the number of environmentally-friendly low carbon buses on our roads with the ultimate aim of improving air quality, accessibility and greater use of public transport.
“It is also shows the success of the Scottish Green Bus Fund, with bids received from both large and small bus operators. Lothian Buses has been successful in all five rounds of Green Bus Fund and now have 65 low carbon vehicles in operation, something to be commended.
“The fund has already provided some £13 million and is delivering 269 new low carbon buses into the Scottish Bus Fleet, with almost half of these already in operation and the other half due to come into service by November this year. This reaffirms our commitment to our ambitious climate change target of reducing carbon emissions by 42% by 2020.
“Look out for these buses hitting the streets next month.”
This news follows the news of the new Volvo B5TLs Airlink buses which went into service this week.
