E Double Decker Busses Arrive in Manchester

Stagecoach Manchester rolls out 32 all electric double-decker buses.

00:42 12 April 2020

Thirty two all-electric double-decker buses that will connect Manchester city centre to the airport, five hospitals, and three universities have been recently launched by Stagecoach Manchester. The scheme is supported by power infrastructure with intelligent chargers used to limit loading on the electricity supply and maximise vehicle availability. 

 

The new fleet, which will serve the 111 and 43 routes, was supposed to have been rolled out a few months earlier. Based on the original plans, the first of the Enviro400 EV were supposed to go into service from summer 2019. 

 

The original plan also states that 105 electronic buses will be added to the fleet. However, Stagecoach spokesperson Alexander Dennis said that the original plan did not push through due to a lack of enough funding. He also explained that the deployment of the 32 new electric vehicles was delayed due to missing charging infrastructure caused by late funding approval.

 

Elisabeth Tasker, managing director of Stagecoach Manchester, said: "The introduction of the new electric double-decker buses is a significant milestone in the history of transport in Greater Manchester and represents one of the biggest single investments in electric buses anywhere in Europe." 

 

The scheme is part of a plan developed by Stagecoach to deliver a step-change in the region's bus network and seamlessly connect South and North Manchester in the next ten years.