National Grid backs first electric bus for Warwickshire
Warwickshire has its first full-electric, zero-emission bus thanks to a partnership between National Grid and Stagecoach. National Grid has contracted Stagecoach to run the electric bus on a dedicated service for its staff between Leamington town centre, the rail station, and the National Grid site at Warwick Technology Park. Stagecoach have been contracted to operate the contract for five years.
The Yutong electric bus takes around four hours to charge and can then run up to 370km before recharging. The bus will cover 50,000km a year on the route.
Mark Whitelocks, managing director, Stagecoach Midlands, says: “We are delighted to be working with National Grid to provide the first fully-electric bus for Warwickshire and continue helping National Grid and our region travel more sustainably. We are committed to developing this further in the coming years, with our involvement in the Coventry all-electric bus town project, which will have wider benefits across Warwickshire.”
Lorna McAtear, UK fleet manager at National Grid, adds: “National Grid has an important role in enabling the rollout of future clean transport, so it’s important we keep leading the way with our own transport and fleet. It’s great to have Warwickshire’s first electric bus at National Grid, so we can encourage and support colleagues to reduce their impact on the environment too.”