£230k Free-To-Use Electric Buses For City Centre

THE FIRST fully electric buses will soon take to the city centre streets of Manchester.

Greater Manchester already has more green buses than anywhere in the UK outside London, with plans to have over 300 green buses on the road by 2015.

The city centre's free hop-on hop-off Metroshuttle service will see three new environmentally friendly Optare electric buses join their 17 strong-fleet of hybrid-electric buses already running along the three Metroshuttle routes.

The electric buses, which cost £232k each and can carry up to 57 passengers, are cheaper to run than diesel buses and have zero emissions at the point of use.

The buses have been jointly funded through the Department for Transport’s Green Bus Fund, which contributed £98k (42% of cost) to each bus.

The three new electric buses will run along Metroshuttle Route One, linking Piccadilly station with Chinatown, King Street, Spinningfields, John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester Arndale, Royal Exchange, Central Coach Station and the Village.

Cllr Mark Aldred, Deputy Chair of the TfGM Committee, with Vicky Tomlinson, operations manager for bus operator First.

Greater Manchester already has more green buses than anywhere in the UK outside London, with plans to have over 300 green buses on the road by 2015.

Councillor Mark Aldred, Deputy Chair of the TfGM Committee, said:

“Metroshuttle is the largest free city centre bus service in the UK and carries millions of passengers every year, helping to cut congestion.

“These new electric buses are cheaper to run and quieter than normal buses and give off no harmful emissions – contributing to a better environment for everyone who lives in, works in and visits the city centre.

“The buses are a welcome addition to our fleet of green buses – and just part of Greater Manchester’s hard work to radically slash its carbon emissions by around one million tonnes every year.”

Metroshuttle services run to all major areas of the city centre including Piccadilly station, Deansgate, Spinningfields, Manchester Victoria, Shudehill Interchange, Oxford Road and Salford Central train stations.

See here for more information and Metroshuttle routes.

Vicky Tomlinson, operations manager for bus operator First, Howard Hartley, Head of Bus for TfGM, and Cllr Mark Aldred, Deputy Chair of the TfGM Committee.