Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has announced the completion of the city region’s first fully electric bus depot in Tameside, Ashton.
The depot, which is one of the first not just in the city region but nationally, has enabled the electrification of 14 routes and will be operated by Metroline on behalf of TfGM.
Housing 83 Volvo BZL MCV Double Deck zero-tailpipe emission buses, the depot is equipped with 27 dual chargers, allowing 54 electric buses to charge at any one time and allowing over 300 electric buses to operate as part of the Bee Network.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:We’re driving a green revolution across the city region through investment in the Bee Network. To see us complete the first fully electric depot in Greater Manchester – and one of just a few in the country – shows, once again, we’re leading the way in making journeys cleaner and greener.
With one in five buses now electric – up from 1% before franchising – we're transforming how people get around, with 14 more routes now served entirely by zero-emission buses.
The Bee Network is already proving massively beneficial to residents and businesses across the city-region and the funding announced this week – which demonstrates confidence in what we are doing at the highest level – will enable us to go even further as we press ahead and create the UK’s first fully electric, zero emission integrated public transport system.
With the opening of the new electric depot, a number of routes are now fully electric including the 7, 216, 219, 220, 221, 230, 231, 237, 336, 337, 346, 347, 382, 389.
TfGM has also pledged to electrify a number of additional bus depots within the city region, with upgrades already in place at Bolton, Oldham and Hyde Road in Manchester. Upgrades are also set to be made at the Middleton depot by the end of 2025.
Patrick Sibley, Regional CEO, Metroline, said:We are proud at Metroline to operate Greater Manchester’s first fully Electric Bus depot for the Bee Network in Ashton. Since mobilisation, completing the electrification process at Ashton has been a key priority, and we have been working closely with TfGM, our electric infrastructure partners and Volvo to ensure that we were able to get more electric buses on the road.
Though the journey has not been without challenges we are delighted to have 83 new electric buses join our now 160-strong electric fleet, and look forward to providing customers across Greater Manchester with zero-emission journeys on the Bee Network. We are committed to continuing to work with TfGM and their objective to achieve a fully electric Bee Network by 2030.
