Route change for 10 new electric buses

11 hours ago

Alex PopeNorthamptonshire

News image — The new buses are set to run on Stagecoach routes X46 and X47 and not 17,18 and 19

North Northamptonshire Council A bus, with a large number of blue and red seats, with a red aisle in the middle. There are yellow handles on the back of the seats and yellow poles. — The new buses are set to run on Stagecoach routes X46 and X47 and not 17,18 and 19

Ten new double‑decker electric buses are expected to be approved by a council, but they will not operate on the routes originally proposed.

North Northamptonshire Council announced in September that eight eco-friendly vehicles would be introduced on Stagecoach services 17, 18 and 19. The authority has since revised its plans.

It now said the electric vehicles would be in operation on the X46 and X47 routes, after it secured £1.2m from the Department for Transport and completed upgrades at Stagecoach's Northampton depot.

The authority said it had not forgotten about the previous routes, and were "strong contenders" for electrification once investment in Kettering depot had been made.

'Significant impact'

The council had previously said the new buses would run on services serving Kettering, Hanwood Park, Rothwell and Desborough, with extensions to Corby and Market Harborough.

The new routes will cover Northampton, Weston Favell, Earls Barton, Wellingborough, Irchester, Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Stanwick and Raunds and could be operational by next summer.

Reform UK councillor Chris McGiffen, executive member for highways and travel, said: "Due to a change in the timeline around the infrastructure required, we are looking at adjusting the focus of this scheme.

"The new proposals would see electric buses used on routes that make up 20% of bus journeys in North Northamptonshire, which means the scheme would still have a significant impact for residents and passengers.

"But that doesn't mean we have forgotten about the previously agreed route, and it is anticipated that the Kettering to Desborough route would be a strong contender for electrification by the time Stagecoach are able to invest in the Kettering depot."

The rest of the funding for the project would come from Stagecoach.

Mark Whitelocks, Stagecoach's Midlands managing director, said electric buses would "help us to deliver improvement to our services for our customers sooner".

The decision is set to be finalised at an executive council meeting on Tuesday, 9 June.

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