Newport Transport agrees deal to convert buses to fully electric vehicles

Newport Transport has signed a deal with Equipmake for eight of its buses to be to repowered to fully electric vehicles.

Five diesel ADL E400s and three hybrid Volvo B5LHs are to be converted from Internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) to fully electric using Equipmake’s hi-tech Zero Emission Drivetrain technology.

The B5LH vehicles will have a 218kWh battery system, providing a 90-mile daily range suitable for school routes, while the E400s will be repowered with a 382kWh system, providing a 150-mile range suitable for a combination of school and city routes

It’s estimated that each converted vehicle will save 90 tonnes of embedded CO2 compared to a newly manufactured electric double deck bus.

Each conversion also costs less than half that of a new electric bus, and with most buses in service for 14 years or more, operators can make significant savings by repowering a bus halfway through its operational life.

Cost-effective

Scott Pearson, Managing Director, Newport Transport, said: “This partnership with Equipmake is an obvious next step for us as we continuously reduce the emissions of our operations. Its state-of-art technology is cost-effective and environmentally sustainable.

“We are hugely excited to begin the conversion of these eight buses and see them on the roads of the local area.

“Our school routes are a vital element of our service, transporting hundreds of students each day. These buses will continue to serve an important community purpose, but with the added benefit of doing so emission-free.”

Equipmake CEO Ian Foley, added: “It’s rewarding to see that our sustainable solution will be used to reduce emissions on school routes throughout the Newport area.

“Repowering existing buses offers operators an excellent opportunity to achieve their zero-emission targets, while making significant cost savings in parallel.”

The first repowered Newport Transport vehicles are expected to enter service in early 2024.