Stagecoach West Scotland has purchased 27 Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC buses for their route 11 service.
Stagecoach West Scotland today (Friday 5th January 2018) launched 27 new vehicles on their popular service 11 route which operates between Ardrossan and Kilmarnock.
The new E400 double decker vehicles will be on the route from Monday 8th January 2018 and provide a modern upgrade to customers travelling on the route. The £5.6million investment by Stagecoach is proof of their commitment to providing high quality bus travel to people living and working within North and East Ayrshire.
The new vehicles, which were built by Alexander Dennis at their Falkirk factory, meet the latest very stringent Euro 6 emissions standards. This is a standard that most diesel cars fail to meet and is proof of our commitment to improve air quality in West Scotland.
The vehicles which have comfortable e-leather seats, free Wi-Fi and USB charging points were officially launched at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine by Scottish actress Jane McCarry best known for playing the character Isa in Still Game.
At the same time a new timetable will be introduced on the service which has been developed using both the extensive knowledge of front line employees and the latest GPS automatic vehicle location (AVL) software to analyse the performance of the route over time. All vehicles in our fleet, including the new buses on the 11 service, are fitted with this AVL tracking software which not only allows the company to constantly track each journey, but also allows passengers to get live bus updates on the Stagecoach website, through the Stagecoach App and on street at digitally equipped bus stops.
Tom Bridge Managing Director Stagecoach West Scotland said: “We’re delighted to be launching these new vehicles on our service 11 route. It is hoped that this investment in new vehicles will encourage more people to travel by bus which could help to reduce congestion on our roads and have an environmental benefit for the local community.
“By using our AVL data to design our new timetable our service reliability should improve in the face of constantly changing levels of traffic congestion”
Jane McCarry star of BBC hit comedy Still Game said: "I have yet to travel on a bus and not start up a conversation with someone. You never know who you are going to meet! I always end up with at least one person’s life story and the conversations I have earywigged on over the years would make yer hair curl, more than once I’ve missed my stop because I just had to hear the end of a story. When my boys were wee, folk would jump up and help with the pram and now it’s Mack the dog’s turn to get all the attention, he usually manages to scrounge a treat from a pensioner’s pocket. Somehow a bus more than any other form of transport is the friendliest way to get about, so I was truly honoured and delighted when Stagecoach asked me to launch 27 fabulous, double decker buses. I wish all the staff and passengers many happy hours on board."
Humza Yousaf, Minister for Transport and the Islands said: “I’m encouraged to see bus operators investing in newer buses, not only to reduce emissions, but also as they provide a better offer to their customers. With enhanced convenience through Wi-Fi and USB charging points, I hope more people will choose to travel by bus across North and East Ayrshire.
“When considering how to improve air quality across Scotland, buses should not be seen as the problem. They are part of the solution to this challenge. By investing in a modern fleet, with substantially lower emissions than earlier models, Stagecoach is supporting the Scottish Government’s vision for our air quality to be the best in Europe.”
This was just another short bus news update in relation to the rollout of new buses in Britain.
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