First Bus has purchased a site to construct a new ‘super bus depot’ that will support its transition to an all-electric fleet in Portsmouth.
The facility was formerly a Daily Mail processing centre and is located opposite First Bus’s current Hilsea Depot.
It will now be transformed into a purpose-built all-electric site that will accommodate up to 90 electric buses.
The new depot will take up to 2-3 years to build, with construction planned to commence in the next few months.
First Bus South Managing Director Simon Goff said:We are thrilled to have secured this new site and to share the good news with our customers and our colleagues. This will have a massive impact for the better on the daily working lives of our hard-working staff and we cannot wait to share the improvements with our customers as well.
This represents a significant investment and future commitment to providing zero-emission bus services in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas.
The acquisition of this new site marks the latest step in First Bus’s 2035 pledge to operate a fully zero-direct-emission fleet across the UK.
As part of this move, the operator will be launching 62 electric buses from its existing Hoeford bus depot in Portsmouth from April 2024.
Councillor Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Transportation said:We are delighted to hear the news that First will be creating their 'super bus depot' here in Portsmouth. This demonstrates a huge commitment to public transport in our city and will provide a home for the electric bus fleet, helping us to provide clean, zero-emission public transport across Portsmouth.
