A fleet of 22 electric buses has today launched in Aberdeen following over £11 million of investment, supported from the Scottish Government Ultra Low Emissions Scheme.
Operated by Stagecoach, the buses will run on routes that connect the city centre with Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, TECA and Aberdeen International Airport, as well as running through residential areas.
Peter Knight, Managing Director of Stagecoach Bluebird, said that the new buses are an "attractive proposition for customers".
"Bus travel is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to travel and we hope that by offering zero emission vehicles next level of comfort that it attracts people who previously weren't bus users to switch from the car to bus.
"It's really important that we continue with investment, not only to make bus travelling, attractive proposition for our customers and current non-bus users, but also for the supply chain and the jobs that this industry also supports."
Stagecoach's ambition is to decarbonise its fleet by 70% by 2035.
"Here in Aberdeen, we really hopeful that we continue to get the investment to be able to decarbonise the fleet in line with that ambition", added Knight.
Each of the new buses will include USB charging ports at every seat, live tracking through a mobile app, as well as contactless payments and recycled leather seats.
It's hoped that these new features will encourage a younger generation of people to use public transport, according to Director of Bus Users for Scotland, Greig Mackay.
"We've got the under 22 scheme that's just been launched at the start of the year, so we have a whole new audience of bus passengers that are going to be coming on and using public transport.
"They may have been used to school buses, which would we also a slightly different age profile than us.
"And then they come onto something like this. It's modern, it's comfortable, it's easy to use and it's easy to access - that's what public transport should be about."
