Yvette Cooper, MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford and Shadow Home Secretary, has visited Pelican Bus and Coach to discuss how the public sector can play a role in driving forward the adoption of battery-electric buses.
Ms Cooper’s visit to Pelican’s premises in Castleford follows its acceptance onto the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) 1066 Alternative Fuelled Vehicles dynamic purchasing system as a local supplier. That enables the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles, including buses, on a larger scale than before, Pelican says. YPO arranged the visit and its representatives were present.
Comments Ms Cooper (pictured, second from left): “It was brilliant to see electric vehicles being put together right in the heart of the five towns. I am pressing for us to have more of these kinds of good, green jobs, including green manufacturing jobs, to enable our local economy to thrive in the future.”
Adds Head of Yutong Bus UK Ian Downie (pictured, right): “We were delighted to welcome Yvette Cooper to Pelican. We had wide-ranging discussions on apprenticeships, local upskilling and zero-emission coaches and buses. We explained that our UK-owned company fully completes zero-emission vehicles in the UK, adding value and skilled jobs to Yorkshire and throughout the country.
“It was a pleasure to meet Yvette, with two generations of our owners discussing our 102 years as a UK business.”
Mr Downie adds that Yutong is “leading the way in the world towards zero-carbon public transport,” noting that the manufacturer’s zero-emission vehicles have covered 27 billion kms globally.
