Torbay bus fleet to go fully electric in £30m investment

Whisper it, but a £30million revolution is coming to the streets of Torbay, and you won’t hear it coming.

Torbay’s Stagecoach bus fleet is going all-electric, and that means 56 new zero-emission single-deckers, double-deckers and minibuses taking to the streets in a green revolution.

Noisy diesel buses and their emissions will soon be a thing of the past.

Torbay’s Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling had a preview of the shape of things to come when Stagecoach managing director Peter Knight invited him on board one of the new fleet for a tour of Torquay.

Stagecoach says the project will put the bay at the forefront of greener public transport. Around £6million of the cost will come from the government, but the rest is private investment.

Passengers will find themselves travelling in near-silence, with the air conditioning the only disturbance of the peace. There are no gear changes or other noises to overwhelm the announcements of where the bus will stop next.

Video screens announce route details, and the electronics also include charging points for passengers’ mobile phones.

“I think the most exciting thing for Torbay is the amount of investment,” said Mr Knight. “I don’t think anybody has spent that amount of money in Torbay recently.”

The launch of the new buses has been slightly delayed while the necessary charging infrastructure is put in at the bus depot off Newton Road in Torquay, where the fleet will get its re-charging overnight.

But the new buses are due to start appearing on Torbay’s streets any day now.

“Being visually impaired myself, I am a regular bus user,” said Mr Darling. “It’s really good to have decent buses in the bay. The more we can get people on to the buses, the better the impact is on our communities.

“And having these buses with zero emissions is really exciting.”

The roll-out of the new buses has led to changes in routes around St Marychurch, with Hartop Road having been dropped from one route because the new buses are bigger than the previous vehicles.

However, some local people have pointed out that if people with larger vehicles parked more considerately, the route would open up for the new buses.

“This is a partnership approach,” said Mr Knight. “We’re working very closely with Torbay Council to understand whether there’s an opportunity to be able to serve Hartop Road again.

“These buses are very slightly bigger, but we do need everybody to play their part in making sure that the highway is there for running cars and buses along it, not having vehicles parked on it.”

Mr Darling said that while some people were pleased by the news that buses would no longer be using the busy St Marychurch streets, a ‘significant minority’ of older people and those with mobility issues wanted their service back.