First West of England MD James Freeman and Cllr Mark Bradshaw with one of the new buses
As the Bristol European Green Capital year gets fully underway, bus operator First has unveiled its fleet of low carbon certified micro hybrid buses, which are being used to provide services across the city.
To further show its support for the Green Capital Year and to give the vehicles an even stronger local identity, the company is also in the process of changing part of the external design on its vehicles in the city, adding the Bristol Green Capital logo to the side of all of its buses. The logo will replace, in many instances, the ‘West of England’ name which has been emblazoned on the side of the company’s fleet since the livery was changed in 2012.
First currently has 28 Streetlite micro hybrid buses in its West of England fleet (21 of which are in Bristol). A further 50 low emission buses (39 double deck and 11 single deck) are expected to be welcomed into the company’s West of England fleet in the coming months too (39 of which are expected to be used in Bristol).
The new micro hybrid buses – which were delivered at the end of 2014 - are the current jewel in First’s crown: each is equipped with leather seats, free wifi for customers and extra room for wheelchairs and passengers with buggies. They are also fitted with the latest technology which captures energy during braking which can then be used later to power other parts of the bus. The micro hybrid buses are also lighter than conventional single deck buses and, together with advanced engine technology, are around 30% more fuel efficient overall, which also means they produce 30% less CO2.
In addition to the new Streetlite micro hybrid buses, the company also plans to upgrade 31 of its existing buses in Bristol to fit thermal management technology to the exhaust systems (to optimise the efficient reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions) and retro-fit micro hybrid engine systems to the vehicles (which like the Streetlite vehicles, will help harness energy lost while breaking, powering electrical systems instead, and thus saving fuel and reducing carbon emissions). This work is being made possible following a grant from the Department of Transport – secured as a result of partnership working between First, Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council.
James Freeman, Managing Director of First West of England, said: “These state of the art micro hybrid buses are great news for our customers, the city and the wider environment more generally. Micro hybrids are some of the most fuel efficient buses in the world, producing significantly less carbon dioxide emissions than conventional buses.”
“It’s also great that we have so much other investment going into our local fleet – with older vehicles being retrofitted to the same micro hybrid standard, and some more brand new buses expected in the course of the financial year.
“As a major sponsor of Bristol Green Capital it’s important that we do what we can to bridge the environmental gap, and we’re doing just that by investing in, and bringing to the city new, low emission vehicles. Our work in this area continues too, with us set to experiment and trial other new technologies this year too. Ultimately we want to encourage people to get on board with public transport, to see the bus as what it is – part of the solution to an increasingly congested world.
“To further underline our commitment to the Green Capital year we have substantially changed the branding on our buses. This helps raise awareness of the Green Capital year, and similarly gives us an even stronger local identity.”
In the past two years First has invested more than £13 million in 76 brand new vehicles. It has also invested in technologies and systems designed to make all of its vehicles as fuel efficient as possible. In 2011 First won the EDIE (award for environmental excellence) for Carbon Reduction. The award was given to First in recognition of its work implementing its DriveGreen technology.
Cllr Mark Bradshaw, Assistant Mayor for the Place Directorate, added: “I welcome this investment in new vehicles which will play a part in helping to reduce vehicle emissions in Bristol. Bristol is very much open to new thinking about bus and vehicle technology and fuels - as evidenced by recent initiatives and successful bids for government funding."
For more information about First in the West of England log onto
www.firstgroup.com/bristol.
For an overview of First’s wider plans as part of the Green Capital year, see www.firstgroup.com/bristolgreencapital.
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Notes to Editors
For more information contact Karen Duffett (nee Baxter), PR Manager, First on 0117 373 6470 or 07894 785155.
Email: [email protected]
First in West of England has depots in Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare and Wells. As a company, First is committed to delivering a safe, reliable and punctual service for its customers. It operates 567 vehicles and employs around 1700 members of staff. For more information see www.firstgroup.com/bristol or www.firstgroup.com/bath.
First in West of England is also on Facebook and Twitter, at www.facebook.com/FirstWestofEngland and www.twitter.com/FirstBSA.
FirstGroup plc is the leading transport operator in the UK and North America with revenues of more than £6.7 billion a year. We employ approximately 117,000 employees and transport around 2.5 billion passengers a year.
Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world… keeping people moving and communities prospering.
FirstGroup is one of Britain’s largest bus operators with around a fifth of bus services outside London. A fleet of some 6,400 buses carries approximately 1.6 million passengers a day in a huge number of communities including 40 of the UK's largest towns and cities. We operate Greyhound UK providing regular intercity coach services linking South Wales and Bristol Airport, and we also operate some US-style yellow school buses and have a fleet of coaches available for charter. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.
The work to retrofit 31 buses in Bristol with thermal management technology and micro hybrid engines has been partly funded by the Department of Transport (following a joint bid between Bath and North East Somerset Council and Bristol City Council, with FirstGroup investing £84,000 itself). The work is expected to deliver the following for the vehicles involved:
- a 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions per bus each year
- a 10% improvement in fuel consumption
- an annual reduction of 4.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per bus