UK bus operator First Bus has announced that its EV depot-sharing efforts will be expanded under the new identity ‘First Charge’.
While First Bus already has depot-sharing agreements for the EV fleets of major organisations including DPD, Centrica, Openreach, and Police Scotland, the new unified branding will expand access for business fleets to 15 First Bus depots in England and Scotland, all of which are fitted with high-powered EV chargers of at least 150kW to 360kW.
The First Bus Calendonia Depot in Glasgow will expand its reach beyond commercial operations for the first time with the opening of First Charge to the general public. Up to 34 chargepoints, suitable for both fleet and consumer vehicles, are available for use at the Caledonia depot.
Vehicles can be charged at the location between 9:30am and 4:30pm, with the earliest users of the site able to access an introductory rate of £0.39/kWh. As well as contactless credit and debit cards, the chargers on site will accept payment from EV charging network apps and cards including Fuuse, Octopus Electroverse, Allstar, and Paua, with which First Bus partnered in May of this year for a deal allowing Paua’s business customers to access EV charging at 11 First Bus depots.
Isabel McAllister, First Bus UK chief sustainability and compliance officer, said that the firm is “progressing rapidly” towards its decarbonisation goals, adding: “With First Charge, we’re building on our position as an industry leader, sharing our infrastructure to accelerate decarbonisation to help other users move faster too.”
Fiona Hyslop MSP, cabinet secretary for transport, agreed, noting: “Through the new First Charge brand, First Bus is now leading the way by sharing their charging infrastructure, adding to Scotland’s comprehensive public EV charging network and continuing to support the transition to a net zero transport system.”
First Bus is targeting an entirely zero-emission bus fleet by 2035 and has been rapidly scaling up its depot infrastructure to match, with over £320 million invested in these efforts to date. In October 2024, the firm announced a collaboration with EV charging system provider Heliox for five new EV bus depots across the UK, capable of supporting 189 new electric buses. The two firms had previously collaborated in 2021 when the Caledonia Bus Depot was created, which can simultaneously charge 162 vehicles using 80 150 kW modular chargers and two 40kW chargers.
Earlier this year, the company announced it would invest £70 million—of which £20 million was secured through the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme—to bring 160 new zero-emission buses to its network in the West of England. The new buses will run through the low-emission vehicle zone in Bristol and also operate in Bath. Twenty-seven of the 160 new vehicles will be repowered diesel buses, which the transport operator says will further help to improve air quality.
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