A new electric vehicle (EV) charging hub is being built at First Bus’ Summercourt depot in Cornwall, completion of the site is expected late this summer.
The purpose-built site will be the first of its kind for the bus industry, providing EV drivers with a ‘turn up and charge’ hub that will offer eight rapid charging facilities available on a pay-as-you-go basis.
The new site will provide the local community and tourists with direct access to electric charging infrastructure for electric cars and vans.
The site is easily accessible in a key location on the main A30 tourist route into Cornwall, helping ease holiday makers’ EV range anxiety as they travel through the county.
The eight rapid charge points, which are fully powered by 100% renewable energy, will be able to deliver up to a full charge in under 30 minutes.
The Summercourt charging hub is the next step in the company’s decarbonisation strategy and aligns with its mission to operate a fully zero emission fleet by 2035, and the hope is it will also help more people make the switch to electric to improve local air quality.
The chargers will also be available for local businesses to use following the successful pilot of B2B charging provision by First Bus in Glasgow and Leicester, where companies such as DPD and Police Scotland benefit from the use of the operator’s infrastructure for their EV fleets.
“We’re proud to be leading the way with this industry first for consumer electric charging,” said Isabel McAllister, Chief Sustainability Officer at First Bus UK.
“We want to help the communities we serve with their own transition to zero emissions transport solutions.
“We believe this is the right thing to do. By futureproofing sites like Summercourt, we are proud to be progressing our net zero journey and investing in a greener future for our local communities.”
First Bus have planning applications in for 17 additional First Bus sites around the UK that will be fitted with electric charging infrastructure.
