Go North East Launches 20 New Electric Buses in Light Show Extravaganza

This past Wednesday; Go North East transformed Newcastle’s Utilita Arena in order to offer a totally unique experience as the company launched a fleet of 29 brand-new electric buses.

The new buses, which were purchased using funds from a 17 million GBP joint investment from Go North East, the North East Combined Authority and the Department for Transport, will now enter operation across three of the North East’s busiest routes – the Angel 21, X66 and service 58.

Buses in coloured lighting in a dark venue

A special launch event was held at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle

Together, they will carry more than five million passengers each year, with each offering a range of accessibility upgrades including audio-visual next-stop announcements, hearing loops and external speakers.

All of the new vehicles, which have been supplied by Wrightbus UK, will be powered by charging points at the company’s Riverside depot, which was recently electrified by Northern Powergrid.

Those in attendance at the bus launch event included pupils from Gibside School and Kells Lane Primary School, whose communities will be among the first to be served by the new fleet. Other attendees included councillors, MPs, accessibility groups and our Go North East colleagues, with keynote speeches from Kim McGuinness, North East Mayor, and Simon Lightwood, Roads and Buses Minister.

People stood by electric buses during a performance

Guests in attendance included a number of pupils from local primary schools

Guests at the launch event were given lanyards and limited-edition concert-style T-shirts, with the show itself including a choreographed light performance utilising wristbands – a practice popularised by concert venues across Asia.

Nigel Featham, Managing Director of Go North East, said:
If you’re going to change the face of public transport in the North East, you should do it properly. These buses will make a real difference to people’s everyday lives, so a show-stopping launch felt exactly right.

We’re proud to be bringing quieter, zero-emission journeys to some of our busiest routes, improving air quality and giving passengers a more modern, comfortable experience. It was especially important to us that local schoolchildren were part of today – they’re the generation who’ll benefit most from cleaner transport.

The buses will enter service over the coming weeks on the Angel 21 between Newcastle and Durham, the X66 linking Gateshead and the Metrocentre, and service 58 connecting Newcastle, Heworth and the Amazon site at Follingsby.