The Welsh municipal has received its first Yutong E9L forward-entry midibus from Pelican Bus & Coach
Welsh municipally-owned operator Newport Transport has added 11 new Yutong E9L fully electric midibuses, designed for routes where narrower vehicles are needed, to its fleet. The E9L buses are shorter and also have a narrower body, which Newport says makes them ideal for the routes that it was awarded following tender in March 2024 in Monmouthshire and Newport. They are similar to the two-door versions first unveiled in Leicester, but with a longer front overhang and single, full-size twin-leaf front door.
Ian Downie, Head of Yutong UK explained: “Newport Transport required a narrow-bodied, short-length, single-deck zero tailpipe emission electric bus with full air conditioning, with a forward twin-leaf door. Our continued partnership with Newport has again demonstrated our ability to respond to customer requirements. We are delighted to have developed this vehicle for Newport Transport’s design brief.
”The E9L builds upon Yutong’s experience with over 180,000 zero-emission vehicles in service, with 40.7 billion km of operation. The vehicles share the same industry-leading safety systems, with lithium iron phosphate chemistry batteries, which are widely considered to be the safest chemistry available.
”The vehicles were completed in the UK by Pelican and will be supported by Pelican and Newport Transport’s trained technicians. We are proud and honoured to work with David and the highly professional Newport team in bringing this midibus, which is compact with no compromise into service.”
Interim Managing Director for Newport Transport David Jenkins added: ”These new additions to our fleet are another step in our journey towards an all-electric fleet. I’d like to thank Yutong and Pelican for their commitment to re-engineering their E9 product to bring a single-door electric midibus to the UK market. This midibus has high passenger capacity, while its smaller size allows us to serve the space-restricted areas of our Newport network and the more remote parts of our expanding operation.”
The operator has also placed two new Yutong U11DD electric double-deckers in service.
