First Bus opens electric charging to public use

Manufacturer First Bus has marked Clean Air Day with investment in an electric vehicle (EVs) charging hub at its Summercourt depot in Cornwall. 

In one of the first such installations, the hub will provide the local community with direct access to rapid electric charging infrastructure for electric cars and vans.  

The new ‘turn up and charge’ hub will offer eight rapid charging facilities available on a pay-as-you-go basis.  

The firm hopes through offering the infrastructure, it will provide a charging site for the community to use for years to come, and the assist more people make the switch to electric.

The site is accessible from the A30 tourist route into Cornwall too, easing range anxiety as tourists travel through the county, it said.

The chargers will also be available for local businesses to use following the successful pilot of B2B charging provision by First Bus in Glasgow and Leicester, where companies such as DPD and Police Scotland used it for their EV fleets. 

The Summercourt charging hub is the next step in the company’s decarbonisation strategy and aligns with its mission to operate a fully zero emission fleet by 2035, it said.

Preparation works are now underway on site with the hope it will be open to the public later this summer. 

First Bus UK, Chief Sustainability Offer, Isabel McAllister said: “We’re proud to be leading the way with this industry first for consumer electric charging. We want to help the communities we serve with their own transition to zero emissions transport solutions. 

“We believe this is the right thing to do. By futureproofing sites like Summercourt, we are proud to be progressing our net zero journey and investing in a greener future for our local communities.”

Image courtesy of First Bus

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