Stagecoach orders 520 new vehicles for UK
Stagecoach Group today announced multi-million-pound plans to buy and lease a total of more than 520 new buses and coaches for its operations across the UK in 2011-12.
The Perth-based transport group is investing £52million in 360 new buses and coaches for the coming financial year. These vehicles will be introduced in the company’s regional bus networks across the UK, further improving the standard of travel for passengers in Scotland, England and Wales.
Stagecoach has also confirmed plans to lease more than 160 new state-of-the-art vehicles for its bus operations in London, which were acquired in October 2010.
The new orders follow an annual tendering process and all of the vehicles meet the latest Euro 5 emissions standards. The latest boost for passengers is in addition to investment in more than 60 hybrid electric buses, which was announced late last year.
It will mean Stagecoach is now buying or leasing more than 580 new buses and coaches for the UK in the 2011-12 financial year and the company’s investment in new vehicles outside London over four years will reach nearly £290million.
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Les Warneford, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, said: “As well as offering the best value bus fares in Britain, we are driving up the quality of travel for our customers by investing in greener vehicles, better facilities and improved services.
“Minimising carbon emissions is a key factor in our investment programme. We want to play our part in reducing the impact of travel on the environment. We believe there is a big opportunity to attract car users to the benefits of greener, smarter bus travel and cut our own carbon footprint.”
Vehicle manufacturers ADL, Scania, Plaxton and Volvo will supply a total of 255 double-deckers, 74 single-deckers, 166 midi-buses, 28 coaches and 64 Hybrid vehicles. The new vehicles are expected to go into service by April 2012.
Details of the new orders are as follows:
UK Bus operations outside London:
* 127 ADL Enviro 200 midibuses
* 91 ADL Scania Enviro 400 double-deckers
* 50 ADL Scania Enviro 300 single-deckers
* 40 ADL Enviro 400 double-deckers
* 24 ADL Enviro 300 single-deckers
* 28 Plaxton Volvo coaches
* 47 ADL Enviro 400 Hybrid double-deckers (26 for Newcastle, 21 for Sheffield)
* 17 ADL Enviro 200 Hybrid midibuses (8 for West Scotland, 9 for Perth)
London Bus operations:
* 124 ADL Enviro 400 double-deckers
* 39 ADL Enviro 200 midibuses
Stagecoach has also been leading the UK with the introduction of green hybrid electric buses. It is already running vehicles using the technology, which produces 30% less carbon emissions than standard buses, in Oxford and Manchester.
As previously announced, the company is making a £9million investment in 47 state-of-the-art electric-hybrid buses for Sheffield and Newcastle, part-funded by support package of more than £4million from the Department for Transport’s Green Bus Fund.
In Scotland, Stagecoach is also investing £2.4million in a new fleet of 17 hybrid diesel electric vehicles, following an award from the Scottish Government’s Green Bus Fund of around £1.5m million in support funding.
Stagecoach is officially Britain’s best value major bus operator, according to independent transport consultants TAS, with fares up to 30% cheaper than the UK’s other major transport groups.