Newport Transport has signalled an expansion of its coaching arm that will involve delivery in 2023 of the first zero-emission coaches for Wales.
The municipally owned operator’s existing coach work will be divested into a standalone business under the move, with an application for a separate O-Licence in hand. Recruitment of dedicated coach drivers is also underway.
Managing Director Scott Pearson says that the decision to expand from a previously low-key coach operation majoring on home-to-school contracts and day trips has been based on the volume of private hire work available and a desire to maximise revenue at a time that bus patronage is still recovering.
Arrival of four battery-electric Yutong TCe12 models will see the current nine-strong coach fleet grow to 13, with an aspiration to reach 20 coaches by the end of next year. The TCe12s will work alongside a growing fleet of Yutong E10 and E12 battery-electric buses with Newport Transport that have proved highly successful.
Some newer used coaches have already been added to improve the fleet, including Mercedes-Benz Tourismos from Dawsongroup Bus and Coach (pictured). Newport Transport is also working with Zeelo to expand its breadth of work, an arrangement that Mr Pearson says is functioning well.
The TCe12 battery-electric coaches are expected to enter service in March 2023. They will be stock vehicles supplied by Pelican Bus and Coach. Mr Pearson says that while they will be used on local private hire, including for sports teams, and on day trips, plans are already in place for them to be able to reach London.
That will involve charging the coaches at the premises of an operator of the TCe12 in the London area. Pelican Bus and Coach Head of Yutong Sales Ian Downie explains that such a possibility is one of the benefits of the collaborative Team Zero approach, which the dealership launched at the COP26 climate change conference around a year ago.
More on Newport Transport’s plans to transition to a fully zero-emission bus fleet will be published in the November issue of routeone.
