Press Releases

• First Bus have purchased the old Daily Mail processing centre in Portsmouth.
• The new site will become a purpose built all-electric site fit to host their new electric bus fleet of the future.
• The new depot will take up to 2-3 years to build and represents a significant investment and future commitment to bus services in Portsmouth.
• First Bus will be launching 62 brand-new all-electric buses from April 2024 from its existing Hoeford depot site.

• First Bus’ Leicester depot will join York and Norwich to become one of the UK’s first three fully electrified bus depots outside of London 
• The ‘bus depot of the future’ sets a precedent for UK-wide road transport decarbonisation  
• First Bus Leicester will have 86 new electric buses expected on public roads by March 2024 

• This brings the total investment across all ZEBRA projects that First Bus is delivering to £92m, alongside ZEBRA funding of £66m.  

• Operating at Milton Park business, science and technology park in Oxfordshire
• Electric 15-seater autonomous bus accessible to wheelchairs and pushchairs
• Ground-breaking technology in vehicle movement and world-first travel planning

• York and Norwich set to become the UK’s first bus depots outside of London to run fully electric fleets 
• Four First Bus depots benefit from boosted joint investment in electric fleet 
• First Bus to reach a total of over 600 zero emission buses across the UK by March 2024

• UK’s first zero emission autonomous bus service to operate at Milton Park business, science and technology park in Oxfordshire 
• Project to launch two zero emission single-decker autonomous buses which are fully accessible to wheelchair users and prams
• Ground-breaking technology in vehicle movement and travel planning
• The buses will have a safety driver on board at all times during operation and have completed its first test passenger journeys over the past two weeks

• 41% of UK adults are planning to use the bus more frequently in a bid to save money, as households feel the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis. 
• London has seen the most increased bus use (60%) followed by Glasgow (47%), Leeds (45%) and Liverpool (43%).

• First Bus have awarded a contract to fully convert 12 Optare Versa buses from existing EV Generation one system to Equipmake’s Zero Emission Drivetrain (ZED)
• Conversion work underway on the first Versa bus at Equipmake’s headquarters in Snetterton, Norfolk
• The first of the 12 buses is expected to be back in operation on the roads of York in November
• Equipmake’s patented HVAC system will have a guaranteed range of 150 miles in all UK weather conditions for the upgraded York fleet

• First Bus data shows half of UK adults would take the bus more often if they knew that decision would have a direct positive impact on the environment.
• No parking hassles (45%), saving money (36%) and protecting the environment (29%) are three biggest benefits of choosing bus travel.
• 47% of Brits who live in London agree that taking the bus helps with their mental health more than other modes of transport

• Largest ever UK EV bus order outside of London
• UK-built buses will secure green jobs in the UK
• Includes introduction of world’s most efficient double-decker buses
• A total investment of £81m in new Zero Emission vehicles to support bus services across England split between First Bus and the Department for Transport.

Glasgow is now home to the UK’s largest electric vehicle (EV) rapid-charging centre as First Bus completes the major transformation of its flagship Caledonia depot.

First Bus and their four local authority partners celebrate funding bid success for four regions through the DfT's ZEBRA scheme to land a further 125 electric buses