First Glasgow Limited BYD K9/Alexander Dennis Enviro 200EV
FirstBus orders 169 Yutong electrics for ZEBRA 2 successful bids
FirstBus has ordered 169 Yutong battery-electric buses from dealership Pelican Bus and Coach. They form part of four successful local authority (LA) bids to the second round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA 2) scheme in England.
Notably, 127 of them will be the U11DD double-decker, with the remaining 42 being E10 and E12 single-deck models. The total makes FirstBus the biggest customer thus far for Yutong products in the UK and narrowly eclipses a 158-unit order recently placed by Stagecoach.
Depots in Basildon, Hengrove (Bristol), Taunton and Weston-super-Mare will receive the buses. Nine more battery-electrics from Wrightbus form part of the ZEBRA 2 work at the depots involved to give a total of 178 buses for First Bus via that initiative, which when combined represents an £89 million investment in vehicles and infrastructure.
When complete, the order will take to in excess of 800 the number of battery-electric with First Bus, and to 14 the number of its depots with supporting infrastructure. It says that some of the latest vehicles will be used on rural and interurban services.
Speaking about the deal with Yutong, First Bus Chief Operating Officer Andrew Jarvis says: “We are delighted to place this order with the team at Pelican. [It] marks another significant milestone as we invest further in our journey towards a zero-emission bus fleet across our UK operations.
“We are excited to be able to bring new state-of-the-art vehicles to our customers, who will see the immediate benefit of these transformative projects, and we look forward to getting these vehicles out in service for customers in the months to come.
“It is an exciting time for our colleagues at all four of these sites as we start to transform and futureproof out depots. This is also great news for our customers, who will see the benefits of these state-of-the-art vehicles – including improved local air quality and the enhanced customer experience that EVs bring.”
The Yutong order by First Bus follows successful operation of E10 and E12 single-deckers in Aberdeen, Leeds, and South Wales. First South Yorkshire has trialled a U11DD demonstrator and Head of Yutong UK Ian Downie notes that it “was found to be as reliable and economical as our market leading single-decks” during that work.
Mr Downie adds that the latest vehicles will come with air-conditioning, USB charging points, enhanced passenger information systems, and induction hearing loops. After arrival from China, they will be completed by Pelican at its premises in Castleford, with delivery of all 169 to First Bus scheduled for completion within 16 months of 1 July.
Basildon depot will receive 24 of the U11DD double-deckers and 31 single-deckers; Hengrove will get 67 double-deckers and seven single-deckers; Taunton will take 12 U11DDs and four single-deckers; and Weston-super-Mare will welcome 24 double-deckers.
These buses represent a change from Firstbus’s previous selection of Wrightbus electric vehicles for its fleets down south. Some have questioned the wisdom of ordering buses built completely in China with money supplied by the UK Government, when alternative UK-built buses are available, such as 48901 (LB69JKK) built at Falkirk, albeit on a BYD chassis. Yea I know the buses are finished within the UK but that is the bus equivalent of a wash at a car dealership before you get a new car. It’s hardly the equivalent of building them.
Now there could be a multitude of reasons for this. Cost is certainly a factor and the Yutongs are certainly very competitive on this. But there are continued reports of foul play on this, with the cost being kept down or subsided even by the Chinese Government. That’s something the European Union is looking into with alleged reports of potential tariffs being applied to Chinese vehicles, which are being deliberately sold at a loss to kill off other manufacturers.
Of course availability could be an important point and it could be that lead-in times were excessive for other builders and certainly both the major UK-builders of Alexander Dennis and Wrightbus are very busy at the moment. Switch mobility possibly less so to be fair….
But if you exclude my right to express a personal opinion for a moment, I find it sad that these major companies are buying in foreign vehicles when perfectly good UK-built buses are available. Maybe there should be a clause for any future such ZEBRA schemes that domestic manufacturers have to be used. Just a thought….
First Glasgow Limited BYD K9/Alexander Dennis Enviro 200EV
FirstBus orders 169 Yutong electrics for ZEBRA 2 successful bids
FirstBus has ordered 169 Yutong battery-electric buses from dealership Pelican Bus and Coach. They form part of four successful local authority (LA) bids to the second round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA 2) scheme in England.
Notably, 127 of them will be the U11DD double-decker, with the remaining 42 being E10 and E12 single-deck models. The total makes FirstBus the biggest customer thus far for Yutong products in the UK and narrowly eclipses a 158-unit order recently placed by Stagecoach.
Depots in Basildon, Hengrove (Bristol), Taunton and Weston-super-Mare will receive the buses. Nine more battery-electrics from Wrightbus form part of the ZEBRA 2 work at the depots involved to give a total of 178 buses for First Bus via that initiative, which when combined represents an £89 million investment in vehicles and infrastructure.
When complete, the order will take to in excess of 800 the number of battery-electric with First Bus, and to 14 the number of its depots with supporting infrastructure. It says that some of the latest vehicles will be used on rural and interurban services.
Speaking about the deal with Yutong, First Bus Chief Operating Officer Andrew Jarvis says: “We are delighted to place this order with the team at Pelican. [It] marks another significant milestone as we invest further in our journey towards a zero-emission bus fleet across our UK operations.
“We are excited to be able to bring new state-of-the-art vehicles to our customers, who will see the immediate benefit of these transformative projects, and we look forward to getting these vehicles out in service for customers in the months to come.
“It is an exciting time for our colleagues at all four of these sites as we start to transform and futureproof out depots. This is also great news for our customers, who will see the benefits of these state-of-the-art vehicles – including improved local air quality and the enhanced customer experience that EVs bring.”
The Yutong order by First Bus follows successful operation of E10 and E12 single-deckers in Aberdeen, Leeds, and South Wales. First South Yorkshire has trialled a U11DD demonstrator and Head of Yutong UK Ian Downie notes that it “was found to be as reliable and economical as our market leading single-decks” during that work.
Mr Downie adds that the latest vehicles will come with air-conditioning, USB charging points, enhanced passenger information systems, and induction hearing loops. After arrival from China, they will be completed by Pelican at its premises in Castleford, with delivery of all 169 to First Bus scheduled for completion within 16 months of 1 July.
Basildon depot will receive 24 of the U11DD double-deckers and 31 single-deckers; Hengrove will get 67 double-deckers and seven single-deckers; Taunton will take 12 U11DDs and four single-deckers; and Weston-super-Mare will welcome 24 double-deckers.
These buses represent a change from Firstbus’s previous selection of Wrightbus electric vehicles for its fleets down south. Some have questioned the wisdom of ordering buses built completely in China with money supplied by the UK Government, when alternative UK-built buses are available, such as 48901 (LB69JKK) built at Falkirk, albeit on a BYD chassis. Yea I know the buses are finished within the UK but that is the bus equivalent of a wash at a car dealership before you get a new car. It’s hardly the equivalent of building them.
Now there could be a multitude of reasons for this. Cost is certainly a factor and the Yutongs are certainly very competitive on this. But there are continued reports of foul play on this, with the cost being kept down or subsided even by the Chinese Government. That’s something the European Union is looking into with alleged reports of potential tariffs being applied to Chinese vehicles, which are being deliberately sold at a loss to kill off other manufacturers.
Of course availability could be an important point and it could be that lead-in times were excessive for other builders and certainly both the major UK-builders of Alexander Dennis and Wrightbus are very busy at the moment. Switch mobility possibly less so to be fair….
But if you exclude my right to express a personal opinion for a moment, I find it sad that these major companies are buying in foreign vehicles when perfectly good UK-built buses are available. Maybe there should be a clause for any future such ZEBRA schemes that domestic manufacturers have to be used. Just a thought….