Bus and coach operator Pulhams has put 15 electric buses into service and made significant improvements to one of its depots, following an £8 million investment.
The Cheltenham-based firm’s upgraded depot at Golden Valley in Staverton, has 16 electric charging points, as well as a new bus wash, new fuelling system, refurbished offices and improved driver rest facilities.
Meanwhile, the new fleet includes seven double-decker Wrightbus Electroliners with 442kWh battery packs, and eight single-decker Wrightbus GB Kites – four 11.6m variants with 528kWh battery packs and four 10.2m variants with 442kWh battery packs.
All have been developed and built by Wrightbus at its factory in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
The project has seen £6.63m spent on the electric buses and £1.54m on charging infrastructure.
Go-Ahead Group, the parent company of Pulhams, invested £4.7m, while £3.21m came from the Department for Transport’s ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas) scheme.
In addition, Gloucestershire County Council contributed £255,000.
Pulhams confirmed the investment will save more than 700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
Luke Marion, Managing Director of Pulhams, said, “This is a considerable investment in starting our electrification journey at Pulhams, as we continue to innovate and modernise our fleet and infrastructure.
“This will significantly improve air quality in the communities we serve and will further help make bus travel an even better option for travelling.
“The investment in our facilities at our Cheltenham site brings it up to the standard we envisioned after acquiring the site from Swanbrook Transport in November 2024.”
