***Adds to £3million invested in 17 new vehicles last year ***
*** £1.4million also spent refurbishing 140 existing vehicles ***
Over the past few months First in West of England has invested almost £6million in its bus fleet for Bristol, taking delivery of 31 brand new buses (worth £4.4 million). In addition the company has almost completed a refurbishment of the rest of its Bristol fleet (costing around £1.4million), which will see, by the end of March, a further 140 double deck buses in the city given leather seats and LED lighting, alongside a new external paint job. The latest developments bring to £8.8 million the total investment in buses made by First West of England in the financial year 2013/14.
The latest brand new buses - all super low floor Streetlite vehicles, made by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland - are already being used on Services 8/9 (Temple Meads – Clifton/Redland Circular) and Services 24/25 (Horfield – Ashton Vale). Their arrival into the city also started a cascade process which has meant that the company has been able to remove all of the older step entrance vehicles from its depots in Bristol (Lawrence Hill and Hengrove) and Bath.
Talking about the investment in the fleet, Paul Matthews, Managing Director for First in West of England says: “It’s great to be able to bring brand new buses into the city. Not only does this allow us to replace some of the oldest and less accessible vehicles, it also brings significant benefits to our customers across the patch.
“The new vehicles have leather seats as standard, come ‘WiFi ready’ and they’re also better for the environment. They have been fitted with Cummins Euro 5 EEV engines and therefore offer exceptional performance while also creating less noise and producing fewer emissions.
“We have a rolling programme of investment in our services in the city, and while we are unable to replace all our vehicles at once – due to the enormous capital cost involved – these new vehicles bring us much closer to our target of being completely low floor and compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act in advance of the deadlines set. In addition, the efforts to refurbish much of the rest of the fleet also gives our older vehicles a new look and new feel. This then allows more of our customers to also see and experience the benefits of leather seating, better internal lighting, a refreshed interior and a new external paint job.”
In the coming months First will also finish the installation of WiFi on much of its West of England bus fleet. This work, made possible following a Better Bus Areas Grant, which First applied for in partnership with the four West of England local authorities, should be completed by the end of February 2014. Once the installation is completed, customers travelling by bus will be able to access the internet while travelling across much of the city (where a 3G signal is available) meaning they can check their email, surf the web or even do a spot of online shopping while they’re on the way to school, work or leisure destinations.
For more information about First in the West of England, or to view timetable information, log onto www.firstgroup.com/bristol.
First is also on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/FirstWestofEngland and Twitter, at www.twitter.com/FirstBSA.
There is also a handy First Bus app available to help customers plan their journeys while on the move. Users can check live departure times based on the actual position of buses along specific routes, find local bus stops, bus route maps, service updates and ticket prices. Android and iPhone users can download the First Bus app free from Google Play and the App Store.