First Bus has placed the largest-ever order for Yutong electric buses with UK importer, Pelican Bus and Coach.
This landmark order includes 169 electric buses, which will be delivered to four depots—Taunton, Weston-super-Mare, Basildon, and Hengrove in Bristol—over the next 16 months.
This order includes a mix of single and double-decker buses from Yutong’s E10, E12, and U11DD models, adding to the existing Yutong electric buses in operation in Aberdeen, Leeds, and Cymru.
The new vehicles will come equipped with customer-centric features, such as full electric air conditioning, USB charge points, enhanced passenger information systems, and induction hearing loops.
Ian Downie, Head of Yutong UK at Pelican said:We are so proud to work in partnership with First Bus. Our single-deck buses are already in operation in Wales, Leeds, and Aberdeen, and after trialling our double-deck in Sheffield, we are delighted to receive this landmark order. The double-deck was found to be as reliable and economical as our market-leading single decks.
First Bus is investing 89 million GBP in the new buses as part of its broader to expand its zero-emission fleet. In collaboration with local authorities, an additional 16 million GBP has been secured through the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme.
Upon completion of the project, First Bus will operate over 800 zero-emission vehicles and will have installed EV charging infrastructure at 16 depot sites across the UK.
This significant investment will benefit some of the most rural communities and inter-urban routes, improving local air quality and significantly reducing carbon emissions. By the completion of these projects, at least 18% of First Bus’s overall UK fleet will be zero-emission, marking a substantial step towards its goal of operating a fully zero-emission fleet by 2035.
Andrew Jarvis, Chief Operating Officer for First Bus said:We are delighted to place this order with the team at Pelican. This order marks another significant milestone as we invest further in our journey towards a zero-emission bus fleet across our UK operations. We are excited to bring new state-of-the-art vehicles to our customers, who will see the immediate benefits of these transformative projects. This is also great news for our colleagues at all four sites as we start to transform and future-proof our depots.
