First Bus opens charging depots in Scotland and England to the public
According to First Bus, the programme is designed to open up First Bus’s EV infrastructure for businesses, fleet operators, and now, in Glasgow, for the wider public. The First Bus Caledonia depot in Glasgow is leading the launch with the site now doubling as a public-facing, ultra-rapid charging hub, with charge points available for up to 34 fleet and consumer vehicles at any one time.
At the new depot, vehicles can be charged in the hours between 9:00 AM and 4:30 PM, at a launch rate of just £0.39/kWh. This marks the first time First Bus has opened in-depot charging to the general public. First Bus had first started with opening its charging depots at the end of May, when commercial charging service Paua launched ‘Paua Share’, a scheme to give commercial EV fleets access to charging at shared First Bus depots, marking the first third-party use of the sites.
“First Bus, we’re progressing rapidly towards our goal of a zero-emission fleet by 2035, with an investment of over £320m to date,” said Isabel McAllister, First Bus UK Chief Sustainability and Compliance Officer, adding: “With First Charge, we’re building on our position as an industry leader, sharing our infrastructure to accelerate decarbonisation to help other users move faster too.”
Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, added: “When the Scottish Government invested over £6.4 million to fund the charging infrastructure at the Caledonia Depot, it was always the intention that First Bus thought innovatively and collaboratively about how it might be used. By providing more public EV charging, we’re now seeing that ambition realised, improving charging opportunities and promoting range confidence for EV drivers.”
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