THE EQUIVALENT of 3.7 thousand tonnes of oil has been saved across Wiltshire by people using the bus instead of driving according to figures released by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.  

Salisbury Reds has already begun the transition to electric buses which are more environmentally friendly and the greater the number of electric buses in any area, the greater the reduction of harmful CO2 emissions. 

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Salisbury Reds, managing director, Andrew Wickham said: “In Salisbury, alongside Wiltshire Council, we were able to secure funding of £600,000, through the government’s Low Emission Bus Scheme. We added our own investment and introduced three electric buses to operate our park & ride services in the city in early 2020. 

“Government funding plays an important role, but it is also crucial - before we can commit to electric or hydrogen buses across our fleet - that technology improves. We are most certainly aiming towards a future electric/hydrogen bus fleet, but there are a number of hurdles to overcome before this becomes possible.” 

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In 2022, the Government funded almost 1,000 zero-emission buses across England which was designed to remove 57,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year plus 22 tonnes of nitrogen oxides annually.

 

Andrew said: “The main issues with electric are that current vehicle ranges are insufficient for many of our operations, especially long-distance services and those that operate for long hours.

“We also require more parking spaces for electric buses, as the chargers take up more space. The vehicles themselves are significantly more expensive than their diesel equivalents. “

The cost of charging, refuelling and the cost of power for electric, and hydrogen is currently providing another obstacle to the fleet being converted.

Andrew said: “A fully loaded double-decker has the potential to replace up to 75 cars. So, if more people opted to leave their cars at home - even for just some of the time - and travelled by bus instead, this would have a significant effect on climate change.”

Using a calculation of 200 electric buses, it could cut emissions by more than 7,000 tonnes per year which according to the Department for Transport, is the equivalent of removing 3,700 diesel cars off the road.