A NEW fleet of 55 electric buses will be unveiled in Basildon alongside a transformed bus depot thanks to a £30.6million cash injection.
First Bus has started work at its Basildon Bus Depot, in the town centre, as part of a joint initiative with Essex County Council to replace the current fleet of diesel buses with electric vehicles.
The project, supported by a £4.8million grant from the Department for Transport’s zero emission bus regional area scheme, is combined with a £25.8m investment from
First Bus.
The bus company has promised that the scheme is “designed to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality” and is “a vital part of Essex’s ongoing commitment to greener more sustainable transportation”.
Laindon Park Essex County Council councillor Jeff Henry, deputy cabinet member for highways councillor Mark Platt and Helen Morris, head of the council’s integrated passenger transport unit, took a visit to the depot and rode on a bus.
Mr Henry said: “It has been an incredible amount of work to have a complete transformation into a recharging centre and that is fantastic.
“Just thinking about it from a health perspective, if you have a neurodiverse child or care for someone with dementia, being taken on the bus is so different, it is peaceful, you can hear people. It is not quite as stressful.
“I have seen the new buses, they are brilliant and have new safety features.”
He added that the investment was a “real sign of confidence in Basildon” and noted that the life expectancy of the new buses is the same as their diesel counterparts – roughly 15 years.
Piers Marlow, managing director of First Bus East of England, said: “We’re excited that work has begun at our Basildon depot, transforming it into the operational centre for 55 new, fully electric vehicles.
“These quiet, modern, zero-emissions buses are fantastic news for our customers and will mean better air quality for Basildon.
“We look forward to having them out on the road serving customers by the end of
2025.”
First Bus further aims to have a zero-emission bus fleet across the UK by 2035.
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