First Bus adds 57 new electric buses to Leeds fleet
The prerequisite for the use of electric solo and double-decker buses was the installation of charging infrastructure on site. First Bus has completed the electrification of its depot in Bramley, a district of Leeds, with charging infrastructure from Heliox. From the end of March, a third of the buses stationed in Bramley will be electric. Further electric buses are planned for summer 2024.
According to the public transport operator, Leeds will have the largest fleet of zero-emission buses in West Yorkshire. As is currently the case almost everywhere in the UK, the conversion is due to or was made possible by the British government’s ZEBRA subsidy programme. First Bus is financing £16.4 million of the £29 million conversion work at the depot (the equivalent of just under €34 million) itself and, in collaboration with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), has been able to secure £12.6 million from the ZEBRA budget. We also recently reported in more detail on the “Zero Emission Bus Regional Area” programme as the secret to the success of electric buses in the UK.
The Wrightbus electric buses used in Leeds are manufactured in Northern Ireland. The 32 GB Kite Electroliner solo buses come from the large order placed with Wrightbus in August 2022, when First Bus ordered a total of 193 electric buses for use in five cities. The follow-up order for 117 electric buses from March 2023 then included the 25 double-deckers for Bramley. First Bus is thus a major customer of the Northern Irish manufacturer and is very familiar with the electric models.
In Leeds-Bramley, the electric buses are charged with 150 kW chargers from Heliox. According to First Bus, the Heliox Rapid 150 kW are capable of fully charging a bus in 2.5 hours.
“This is the beginning of a new future for the Bramley depot and part of our green transport revolution in Leeds,” says Andrew Cullen, Managing Director of First Bus’ North and West Yorkshire business. “We’re proud to unveil these latest zero-emission buses and are confident they will appeal to our customers and attract more people to consider bus travel by realising the real impact this has in reducing congestion, creating cleaner air and supporting the wider West Yorkshire economy.”
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