Falkirk bus plant takes order for more green buses from Stagecoach
Alexander Dennis coach builders of Falkirk, Scotland, have won yet another green bus order which will see them create 47 hybrid buses for use by Stagecoach in Newcastle and Sheffield.
The contract is estimated to be worth in the region of £9 million with £4 million being funded by the government. The cost of manufacturing a hybrid bus as opposed to a conventional diesel bus is 30% more expensive which is why the government have made a fund available to help with the costs of getting greener buses on the roads.
The innovative feature of the new hybrid buses, which are powered by both electricity and diesel, is a system which allows the batteries to be charged via the power released when braking. It’s hoped this exciting deign feature will help extend the battery life of the buses further, which will in turn help to reduce the amount of carbon emissions emitted.
56 of the new environmentally friendly buses are currently in use by Stagecoach on bus routes in Manchester and Oxford, as well as services in London and the Thames Valley.
The Falkirk branch of the coach builders employs 960 people with the plant producing 100 new green buses this year alone. However the company hopes to top this next year by producing 150 hybrid vehicles.
