Zenobē supports expansion of EV bus charging at Newport Transport
Zenobē is expanding its relationship with Newport Transport with the installation of 16 new charging points, comprising eight double-headed chargers, to provide further charging support to the operator’s fleet of 32 electric buses. The new facility will enable the operator to have all its electric buses on the road at the same time, and enable dynamic charging strategies to provide greater charging flexibility for future fleet expansion.
Zenobē and Newport Transport began working together to bring Wales’s first fleet of electric buses into service in 2020. The total number of electric buses in the fleet rose to 32 in June this year. But there was no means to charge them all at the same time overnight, something that will be addressed by the new charging points. The electric fleet now makes up 43 per cent of Newport Transport’s overall fleet, claimed to be the largest ratio of electric to diesel buses in a fleet outside of London.
Zenobē has also upgraded the grid connection at the depot to support the increased energy demand and provided financing for the infrastructure, the batteries on the Pelican Yutong vehicles, and any replacement batteries required in the life of the contract.
Scott Pearson, managing director, Newport Transport, says: “We are leading the way in Wales, with our EV fleet improving air quality and CO2 emissions across the city and surrounding areas. We at Newport Transport are excited for further collaboration with the team at Zenobē, as we work towards our vision of a net zero fleet in the near future”.