First Bus depot in York makes history with fuel tank removed forever
- Depot is first in Yorkshire to only use electric charging for its bus fleet
- Total carbon saving of electric fleet close to 5,000 tonnes a year
- Latest stage in £23m transformation of the depot
The First Bus depot in York has made history with the removal of its diesel refuelling tank forever.
It means the bus depot now operates its fleet only using electric charging and becomes the first in Yorkshire to do so.
First York has relied on diesel fuel for almost a century after it was established in 1932. The bus operator moved to its current James Street depot site over 30 years ago and installed the fuel tank.
Weighing 10 tonnes and the size of a typical Portakabin, the tank held 44,000 litres of fuel which would last the depot seven days and so diesel deliveries were made twice a week to maintain levels.
Kayleigh Ingham, Commercial Director of First North & West Yorkshire, said: ““We’re making history with the removal of our diesel refuelling tank. This is now the first bus depot in Yorkshire to operate its fleet entirely using electric charging.
“We are leading a greener transport revolution in York and the wider region.”
First York now has a fleet of 86 zero emission buses saving close to 5,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.
The removal of the fuel tank is the latest step in a £23m transformation of the depot achieved with a £13m investment by First Bus and government co-funding of £10.2m secured by City of York Council.
“This depot is at the forefront of First Bus’s strategy to have a zero emission fleet nationally by 2035,” added Kayleigh Ingham.
“EVs can attract more people to consider bus travel by realising the real impact this has in creating cleaner air and enjoying a much smoother, quieter ride.”
Picture caption: Andrew Cullen, Managing Director of First North & West Yorkshire and Kayleigh Ingham at the York depot.
Ends
Notes to editors
Media enquiries to Richard Harrison, PR Manager, First Bus North & West Yorkshire 07973 668116 richard.m.harrison@firstbus.co.uk
About First Bus
At First Bus, we are on a mission to grow bus usage. We will get behind initiatives that move people out of cars and onto bus.
We are one of the UK’s largest bus operators, delivering over a million passenger journeys every day for the communities we serve.
Transforming our business for the better, we are putting our people and customers at the heart of all we do.
We are all about making journeys easier for our customers, which is why we were the first national bus operator to rollout Tap On, Tap Off payment technology across our entire UK fleet of 4500 buses. Our First Bus app has also been voted ‘best in class’ amongst UK bus operators.
First Bus is committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035. By March 2024, 15% of our will fleet will comprise Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs).
We are passionate about giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we are helping local businesses to progress their own decarbonisation journeys with access to our charging hubs while our buses are on the road.
We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland, Specialist Passenger Solutions, First Travel Solutions and Ensignbus.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup. Find more information on First Bus here: https://news.firstbus.co.uk/