It’s not often that you’d hear that phrase. Northerners, while friendly and amiable, often have an instant dislike or distrust of someone when we hear that southern accent. But this is a Southerner that you can get behind – mainly, because it’s a bus, not a person.
First Buses have been trialling Electric Buses, and have been using the red Transport For London (TFL) single-decker for the trials. The TFL buses are completely electric, and much cleaner for the environment than the current models which are used by First all over Yorkshire. Some Keen-eyed bus spotters noticed the unusual addition to the fleet on the first week of July. This marks the end of a two week trial, and hopefully marks the start of implementation of electric public transport all over Yorkshire. Leeds is currently the only place where First are trialling these electric buses, and will soon begin testing for double-decker models as well.
This trial is running alongside trials for Hydrogen and Biodiesel vehicles, which are currently taking place in Aberdeen and Bristol. First will be updating their entire fleet to co-incide with stricter clean air regulations. In Leeds, the Clean Air Zone proposal will mean that bus companies will face fines for using vehicles that produce higher levels of pollution and carbon dioxide – this will likely come into effect in 2020. The newer energy-efficient electric buses will mean that the companies won’t have to pay fines, and the air in our cities will become cleaner.
