Electric bus charging at Poppleton Bar Park & Ride site
As part of a partnership between First York and City of York Council, the first of 21 new all-electric double decker buses entered service on the York Park & Ride network in July 2020. Further Metrodecker EVs, manufactured by Optare in Yorkshire, have now been brought into operation and replace existing diesel vehicles in an investment totalling £9.3m and expanding the fully electric fleet on York Park & Ride to 33 buses.
Each bus saves almost one kilogram of carbon dioxide emissions for every kilometre travelled, with an estimated saving of 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 a year from the 21-bus Metrodecker fleet.
The vehicles, which herald new-look York Park & Ride branding and feature audio visual next stop technology, USB charging points and Wi-Fi connectivity, have been supported with £2.7m funding secured by City of York Council from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).
All but one of the 21 new electric double decker buses were in service by the end of 2020, with the final one entering service at the beginning of January 2021.
It remains an ambition for City of York Council to ensure all bus services are electric in the future.