Work has begun on installing charging infrastructure at Stagecoach’s depot in Exeter, ahead of the arrival of its new electric bus fleet this summer.
Situated in the Matford Park and Ride, the charging points will be available for use by the public when not in use by a Stagecoach bus, creating a Community Charging Hub with high-speed charging technology.
Devon County Council secured the initial Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) funding from the Department for Transport (DFT), with Stagecoach South West investing £15 million as well.
The first of these electric buses will be arriving in Exeter this summer, and then at sites in Torbay and North Devon.
In total, 90 buses from Alexander Dennis, Volvo and Yutong will be introduced across the South West by early 2026.
These new buses will meet Enhanced Accessibility Standards and will come with the latest passenger experience features.
Stagecoach anticipates that for each new electric bus introduced to the fleet it has the capacity to remove approximately 20 to 40 cars from the road. This reduction is equivalent to saving around 40 tonnes of CO2 per year per bus.
Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, said, “We are committed to reducing carbon emissions and given that on road transportation makes up more than a quarter of Devon’s total carbon emissions the decarbonisation of public transport is a crucial part of our response to the climate emergency and helping us to achieve our targets.
“These new electric buses can help transform our local bus network in Devon and hopefully they will appeal to more people and encourage them to travel by bus.”
