Come and join ‘the buzz’ of Norwich’s new electric fleet
First Bus invites city residents to ‘Meet the Bus’ day
Come and join the ‘buzz’ at The Forum on Tuesday 24th October from 10am to 4pm, and experience two of Norwich’s brand new electric double decker buses.
First Bus and Norfolk County Council invite residents to come and look around the zero-emissions vehicles, ask the experts any questions, take part in activities and win prizes!
This event comes in advance of the vehicles going into service in Norwich over the coming weeks. It is part of a wider project to fully electrify First Bus’ Roundtree Way depot, replacing all its diesel vehicles with the new fleet of 70 Electric Vehicles (EVs) by March 2024.
The introduction of the new EVs will mean that by 2024 over half of the Norwich network operated by First Bus will be electric. That is over 60% of all bus journeys through Castle Meadow in the city centre.
Piers Marlow, Managing Director of First East of England, said: “This is an exciting project that will not only have significant environmental benefits for Norwich, but will also improve the journey experience for our customers with a quieter, smoother ride.
“We urge residents to come along to the Forum on the 24th October and take a look at the new vehicles for themselves, and we look forward to rolling them out onto the network over the coming months.”
The new buses will give a significant boost to the city’s sustainability credentials and mean cleaner air for residents and visitors, as they produce zero tailpipe emissions.
To fund the purchase of the vehicles, First Bus and Norfolk County Council secured an investment of £14.7m from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) government funding. The grant is matched with around £23m of funding by First Bus.
Cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport Graham Plant said: “The arrival of these buses is an extraordinary boost to our ambitions to run a net-zero transport system in Norfolk and I am excited to see the first buses out in service very soon. The support that First Bus has shown for this project demonstrates the excellent working relationship we have with our bus operators here in Norfolk and how working together can help to achieve the very best for our County.”
Notes to editors
For more information or images please contact Claire Quinton-Tulloch, PR Manager on claire.quinton-tulloch@firstbus.co.uk or 07977458565.
FIRST BUS UK
First Bus is one of the UK’s largest bus operators. Making journeys easier for our customers, we were the first national bus operator to accept contactless card payments across all our services and our First Bus App is voted ‘best in class’ amongst UK bus operators.
Our most recent investments are in new, state-of-the-art buses across our key networks. We work proactively with our local authority partners, making a positive impact on air quality, tackling congestion, and improving customer experience.
We are focused on First Bus becoming a leader in the transition to a low-carbon future and are committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup plc.
Find more information on First Bus here: First Bus UK News
Norfolk County Council Net Zero
Encouraging more people to use the bus travel and other sustainable options is key to our ambitious aims of achieving net-zero in Norfolk by 2030.
Norfolk County Council has committed to achieve ‘net zero’ carbon emissions on its estates by 2030, but within its wider area, to work with partners towards ‘carbon neutrality’. This also supports the government’s ambition for a net zero country by 2050.
We will achieve this by implementing carbon conscious ways of working across our buildings and supply chain; putting in place the right infrastructure across the county to support the move towards net-zero; and by working together with partners to lead and inspire our colleagues, citizens, communities, and businesses to take action and play their part in protecting Norfolk for future generations.