Reptons Coaches has marked the arrival of a new Yutong E9L electric bus from Pelican Bus and Coach, which was supported by funding from Surrey County Council.
The Surrey-based operator has put the 9.5m long vehicle into operation this week on routes in the north of the county, including one school service.
On September 1, Reptons welcomed representatives from the council as well as Ian Downie, Yutong UK at Pelican Bus and Coach, for the official launch.
Pelican Bus and Coach had announced the sale of the family business’s first electric bus at the Euro Bus Expo last November.
Andy Repton, Reptons owner, says: “They’ve done an exceedingly good job on it, the workmanship is really good.”
He adds the plan to introduce a zero-emission bus for some of its six services had been two and a half years in the making.
“We did our homework on this,” he says. “When we were looking at them, Pelican suggested to go and see people that are on Yutong electrics. So they set up some arrangements for us to go to see Newport Buses.
“But we didn’t just speak to the management; we spoke to the drivers and everyone else. The mechanics said to us, ‘When you buy one of these, your workload will halve overnight.’ The drivers there loved them. The help that we had from Yutong and Pelican Engineering was second-to-none.”
In the near future, Reptons hopes to electrify its whole bus fleet, which is currently four-strong.
Surrey County Council, which paid the difference between a diesel bus and an electric equivalent, says: “Reptons Coaches – one of our contracted bus operators in Surrey – has made its first move towards zero-emission electric buses.
“We have supported this small, independent operator with the purchase of this new electric bus, which went into service this week to support the county’s move to zero-emission buses.”
