First Bus has announced work has commenced to transform its Norwich Roundtree Way bus depot over to an all-electric fleet.
First Bus has been working with Norfolk County Council, with the pair having secured £14.7mn from the Department of Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area funding scheme. First Bus itself is investing an additional £22.5mn to help fully electrify the bus services that will be operating from the depot.
With work now underway, the first of what will be 70 new electric buses are expected to arrive from autumn 2023. The complete set – 11 single deckers, 59 double deckers – should be fully in place by March 2024.
In future, over half of First Bus’ Norwich network will be electric, including more than 60% of journeys that run through Castle Meadow to the city centre. Each bus will save up to 60 tonnes of tailpipe emissions each year, something that will prove a significant boost to the local community, as efforts to make Norwich cleaner and greener continue.
