New £3.5 million fleet of buses to be rolled out in Telford
Bus users in Telford will be able to enjoy a new fleet of buses in the town after a £3.5 million investment.
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Operator Arriva will bring 14 of its new hybrid vehicles to Telford next week.
It is part of an investment which will eventually see 25 single deck, Wrightbus Streetlite Micro Hybrid buses delivered to the town during the first quarter of this year.
The 14 new buses which will be launched outside Southwater One next Thursday (February, 19) will join service 44, which runs between the Princess Royal Hospital, Leegomery, Wellington, Oakengates, Telford Town Centre and Madeley.
Bosses say 11 of the new buses have already been introduced into services 11 and 22 on the South Telford Circular services linking Telford, Dawley, Madeley and Sutton Hill and customer feedback had been "extremely positive."
The new buses benefit from leather seating, ambient lighting and low carbon emissions.
Keith Myatt, spokesman for Arriva, said: "It is a very popular route linking several areas of Telford with Telford Shopping Centre and the colleges, New College in Wellington and TCAT.
"They have e-leather seating, ambient lighting and they will continue to offer easy access, low flow wheelchair space for wheelchair users.
"They are the next stage in efficient low emission buses which will be very beneficial to the local environment in Telford.
"Feedback from customers has been extremely positive, they are pleased with the new investment in new fleet in Telford and they can see the buses have better lighting and the leather seats offer more comfort while they are travelling between their destinations.
He added: "This is part of a £3.5 million investment of 25 new buses in Telford.
"Not only will these vehicles improve comfort and connectivity for passengers using this important transport corridor, but also go some-way towards us strengthening our environmental credentials.
"They are independently proven best-in-class for fuel efficiency, offering an approximate 10 per cent improvement on a typical city bus drive cycle. The vehicles also have low carbon emission bus certification meaning they are eligible for an additional fuel support of 6p per km.
"We are committed to making much needed improvements to this critical route, which will run up to nine services each hour, leaving Telford during the daytime Monday to Saturday, with Sunday and evening buses too."