This October, the UK’s first zero emission buses – The Enviro400Er’s – will debut in Brighton & Hove.

 

By Alana Harris, Staff Writer

This October, the UK’s first zero emission buses – The Enviro400Er’s – will debut in Brighton & Hove.

Brighton and Hove buses have announced that 30 new buses, which can run in a zero emissions mode, will debut on the busy number 5 route. 

The company have invested £9.9 million in the double decker, hybrid electric buses, which will run in zero emission mode when travelling in the city centres “Ultra Low Emissions Zone” (ULEZ) – which covers a vast area from Old Stein, North Street, Western Road, and stretches as far as Palmeira Square. 

The technologically savvy buses – named The Enviro400ER’s – combine geofencing and zero-emissions technology to improve air quality, improve fuel efficiency and reducing harmful emissions. The buses are said to make journeys quieter, smoother, and safer for passengers – with cameras and monitors replacing wing mirrors – meaning that bus drivers get a clearer and wider view of the road with fewer blind spots. 

Brighton & Hove Buses’ Managing Director Martin Harris said:

“Our aim is to help improve air quality for everybody by continually cutting emissions and reducing our energy and fuel use.” 

He added that while the new buses are part of a nationwide scheme to reduce emissions, it is also crucial to Brighton’s personal commitment “… to making Brighton & Hove a clean air city with zero emissions by 2030.” 

The new buses will launch on bus route 5, one of the cities busiest routes. Brighton and Hove buses say that twenty four Route 5 buses an hour run through the ULEZ zone, and that this route is used by approximately 7.6 million people per year. The zero emissions pilot will therefore provide 133,104 emission free miles. 

The buses are also part of the bus company’s Live & Breathe environmental campaign, which is promoted on the side of the buses. The campaign seeks to ensure that Brighton and Hove buses have “…a fleet of zero emission buses by 2035.” 

David Brown, the Chief Executive of Go-Ahead, stressed the importance of public transport amidst growing conversation about how individuals can cut their everyday emissions: “A double decker bus can take as many as seventy five cars off the roads in our cities and towns”. 

The buses also have a sentimental value, with their design offering a unique and fitting tribute to the city of Brighton & Hove. Their design will feature the colours of Brighton – “…the midnight blue silhouetted skyline, the dark teal of the sea, and the iconic pale green of the city’s seaside arches.”

 

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