Essex’s first fully electric bus depot opens in Basildon

The town of Basildon now has the first electric bus depot in Essex, following the completion of a £30.6 million electrification project. First Bus, who delivered the project, said it's a major step towards full fleet electrification by 2035.

The Cherrydown Way bus depot was retrofitted with high-capacity bus charging infrastructure, which enables First Bus to charge its fleet of 55 battery electric buses overnight. The renovation was the result of a partnership between First Bus and Essex County Council and was part funded by the UK Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA2) scheme. The ZEBRA2 scheme delivered a grant worth £4.8 million to the project, while First Bus itself invested £25.8 million.

First Bus states that the Basildon depot is part of its ‘national decarbonisation programme’, which has seen it introduce more than 1500 electric buses to the UK . Simon Mathieson, Managing Director of First Bus England, called it a ‘once-in-a-generation investment’. Mathieson said: “The electrification of our Basildon depot is another important step in our mission to run an entirely electric fleet by 2035.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Mark Platt, the deputy cabinet member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport at Essex County Council, said: “This investment in Basildon’s bus network shows what can be achieved when local and national partners work together to deliver real change.”

The fleet of 55 e-buses were delivered to the Basildon depot in late September, with First Bus stating all would enter service by year end. First Bus has not specified which electric buses will make up the new fleet; elsewhere in the UK, the public transport company has purchased buses from Alexander Dennis, Wrightbus, Yutong, or it has retrofitted old diesel models, but it’s not clear how they procured the vehicles this time around.

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