News / Transport
Bristol’s new fleet of electric buses
First Bus has completed work on a new electrified bus depot in Hengrove.
The new depot opened at the FirstBus site on Roman Farm Road in Hengrove on Tuesday, with metro mayor Helen Godwin and Bristol lord-lieutenant Peaches Golding in attendance.
Using funding from the Zero Emissions Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) project, First Bus has built five gantries, each of which is equipped with drop down cables allowing for easy charging of electric buses.
The drop down charging ports also allow third party charging for larger vehicles such as trucks or lorries.
A drop down charging cable in use at the new depot in Hengrove – photo Rhiannon Lodato
First Bus promise their fleet will be fully electric by May 2026 after the gradual integration of their electric vehicle (EV) buses.
As well as drip feeding EV buses into circulation, First Bus will also train 55 drivers a week on the new vehicles.
The new buses will have cameras in place of rear view mirrors, allowing drivers to have full visibility of the road.
The buses, which have between 220 to 240 miles of range, will take two-and-a-half to three hours to fully charge, although they will be remotely monitored at the Hengrove Depot to ensure their charge never falls below 20 per cent.
An electric charging station has been built at FirstBus’ Hengrove depot to power Bristol’s new fleet of EV buses- photo Rhiannon Lodato
Isabel McAllister, First Bus’ chief sustainability officer, said that although the construction of EV buses costs roughly £600,000, while diesel buses cost £250,000, the costs associated with running and maintaining the vehicles lessens the price differential.
She also explained that diesel buses breakdown much more frequently than EV buses, hence they require a larger spare fleet to accommodate the temperamental mechanics.
She added that diesel breakdowns also lead to increased planned and spontaneous maintenance, which is costly and inefficient.
Metro mayor Helen Godwin attended the opening of the new electrified depot – photo Rhiannon Lodato
Rob Hughes, operations director at First Bus, said “these (buses) just shouldn’t break” and will immensely improve the reliability of local bus services.
Isabel McAllister added that the cost of charging EV buses will be roughly half the cost of filling a bus with diesel, explaining that the batteries used in the EV buses will have a longer shelf life than those used in diesel buses.
McAllister said the most challenging aspect of ensuring the success of an electric charging structure, such as the one at Hengrove, is obtaining and maintaining a sufficient source of power.
Unlike other projects with similar aims of going electric, the Hengrove depot is unique in that it has allocated a team, led by McAllister, with the job of supplying power to the plant.
Main photo: Rhiannon Lodato
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