Full details of Harrogate's stunning new electric bus fleet are revealed
More details have been revealed of Harrogate Bus Company's state-of-the-art new all-electric bus fleet hailed by its MD as a "step change" for the town.
Parent firm Transdev Blazefield’s Managing Director Henri Rohard was talking after the wraps came off the first of 19 new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400EV double deckers destined for The Harrogate Bus Company’s flagship route, The 36 linking Harrogate with Leeds and Ripon.
“This new generation of buses has been three years in the making with a successful application for £7.8 million through ZEBRA, the Government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas fund, by our exceptional partner North Yorkshire Council, supporting our own investment to make this exciting project a reality.
“We needed a bus that is going to be robust for our more intensive services – most of our existing buses on route 36 are covering over 100,000 kilometres, or 62,100 miles, a year, with two million customer journeys per annum.
"These two bus designs are custom engineered to deliver a positive step change in performance across our most popular routes.”
Externally, the new Enviro 400EV buses are packed with safety features, including digital electronic rear view cameras in place of the traditional mirrors, giving drivers a clearer view of potential hazards.
On the inside, a unique specification developed using Transdev’s extensive experience offers customers a level of luxury unlike anything else on Britain’s bus routes.
A glazed staircase leads to the upper deck featuring a two-plus-one seating layout, glazed roof panels to let in natural light and wireless mobile device charging, while on the lower deck, two dedicated wheelchair spaces and high-visibility flooring and lighting makes travel easier and safer for all.
Yorkshire disability rights campaigner Flick Williams, who was first to try the wheelchair spaces on the new 36 bus at the Harrogate launch, praised the new vehicle as "fabulous”.
She said: “Lots of families with two wheelchair users can now travel together on the same bus, while the colour contrasted flooring will help visually impaired people to find their seat.
"Harrogate Bus Company is showing that it takes accessibility seriously with these amazing new buses, and in how well it trains its drivers."
As well as the new electric 36 buses, a Mercedes-Benz eCitaro demonstration vehicle was also on show to give VIPs and families a preview of a further 20 all-new, zero emission electric single deck buses which will also usher in a new era of comfort and style on route 1 between Harrogate and Knaresborough, the 7 between Harrogate, Wetherby and Leeds, and rural 24 route linking Harrogate with Pateley Bridge.
Final testing and driver familiarisation of the first electric double decker is now under way, with further double and single deck buses now in build to Transdev’s unique specifications.
The bus operator expects to begin introducing its new Enviro 400EV zero emission buses to route 36 in September, with single deck eCitaro electric buses due to begin entering service at the same time.
The new buses will run alongside The Harrogate Bus Company’s existing fleet of eight Volvo 7900E electric single deck buses, which were introduced to three of local routes in Harrogate in 2018.
Full details of the bus operator’s routes and fares are available at https://www.transdevbus.co.uk/harrogate via the free ‘Transdev Go’ mobile app or at Harrogate Bus Station.