Glasgow bus fleet to be 40% electric, after new order made

To mark World Car Free Day (September 22) First Glasgow has announced that it has placed a £19.7m order of 50 electric buses with Scottish vehicle manufacturer Alexander Dennis Ltd in the latest step on its decarbonisation process.

The new buses – which will save an estimated 3,023 tonnes of CO2e per annum as they replace older diesel buses – will start to arrive in the city next year, with the full fleet of 50 expected to be in place by spring 2024.

Following the recent transformation of Caledonia depot into the UK’s largest EV charging hub, the arrival of these new buses will mean that 40% of First Glasgow’s fleet will be entirely electric.

Ahead of their arrival, work will begin on Glasgow’s Scotstoun depot in before the end of the year to install rapid charging points to support the new buses. Work to transform the depot into a second EV charging hub is expected to take 12 months.

The significant order has been supported by Transport Scotland through its Scottish Zero Emission Bus (ScotZEB) funding – a challenge fund to support the industry’s swift transition to zero emission vehicles and infrastructure.

Duncan Cameron, managing director at First Bus Scotland, said: “We’re incredibly proud of the rapid progress that we’ve made in Glasgow, and these new buses will make a significant impact to our mission to be emission free by 2035.

“What we hope will make an even more sizeable impact on emissions and air quality in Glasgow is people’s decision to choose bus as their mode of transport. These state-of-the-art new EVs will offer a more pleasant journey to passengers, and we hope that they’ll encourage more people in the city to leave their cars behind in favour of bus travel.

“We recently launched our Modal Shift campaign to put across the message that, with just some small changes to our daily routines, together we have the opportunity to transform our city’s congestion, air and noise pollution levels.”