First Bus South has taken delivery of its first electric buses for Portsmouth & Hampshire

The first electric buses from First Bus South, operator of First Bus Solent, have hit the roads in in Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport, ushering in the region’s first zero-emissions buses.

The budding electric bus fleet only represents the first of an order worth 62 electric buses, which will be rolled over the coming weeks for passengers on a number of routes in the area, First Bus wrote.

Funding for the project cost around £28.6 million, which was supposed by a partnership with Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council which secured £12.7m from the UK’s ZEBRA funding programme along with a £15.9m investment from public transport operator First Bus South.

“These vehicles offer significant environmental benefits as they emit zero tailpipe emissions, which means better air quality for local people,” said Simon Goff, First Bus South’s Managing Director, adding: “What’s fantastic is that they’ll also improve the journey experience for our customers, providing a smoother, more comfortable ride. We hope that our passengers are as pleased with them as we are.”

“We have great ambitions both in the UK and across Europe to have many more of our buses on the roads in the future. All of our buses have been built in Ballymena in Northern Ireland, lending further support to the wider regional economy and allowing us to create green jobs as we continue in our growth,” added Jean-Marc Gales, CEO at Wrightbus.

firstgroupplc.com