Town's first electric bus fleet comes into service
BBCA bus firm has unveiled its first ever all-electric fleet in a move it has called "a huge turning point".
Reading Buses proudly presented the 24 new vehicles at Great Knollys Street depot, where a new charging infrastructure has also been installed.
The firm said the buses will be running on purple 17 route between The Water Tower in Tilehurst and Three Tuns on the Wokingham Road and claret 21 which runs through the University of Reading and Lower Earley.
Robert Williams, chief executive officer at Reading Buses, said it expect the buses to "improve the passenger experience" as well as the environment.
The vehicles can be charged overnight in three hours using the fast charge function or they can charge two buses in six and a half hours, and once charged they can then run all day.
"They can do all of our existing schedules without any changes," Williams said.
He added that they will have heating in the winter and air conditioning in the summer, which admitted is a new feature for their buses.
They come fitted with recycling bins, USB charging points and WiFi, as well as wheelchair accessibility and a family area.
Williams estimated it has cost about £14 million for the vehicles, not including the charging infrastructure, which was partly funded using support from the Department of Transport.
"So it's effectively for us the same cost as putting in a diesel bus, it's part of our normal investment in Reading's bus network," Williams said.
He said the firm now has 177 buses, including the new Eco-friendly additions, and they have eight more on order for later in the year.
He added: "We also have about 40% of our fleet that runs on bio-methane gas, and that's already incredibly environmentally friendly, so they'll still all be in the fleet. "So, by the summer, more than half our fleet will be really, really low carbon, and we're hoping in future years to continue that incrementally as the fleet comes up for replacement."
