The new buses comprise: 96 Enviro400 double-deckers for four urban routes; ten Enviro400 City double-deckers for the Glasgow Airport Express route; and 44 Enviro200 vehicles for the First Glasgow single-decker fleet.
All are fitted with Euro VI engines and equipped with the manufacturer’s low emission SmartPack technology. SmartPack combines electric cooling fans, engine stop-start and auxiliary load management, which charges the alternator and compressor when the engine is in coast, to bring exhaust emissions down by over 15% against the Euro VI baseline.
The buses all have high-backed seats, USB charging sockets and provision for audio-visual next stop announcements. The Glasgow Airport Express vehicles also have extra glazing, mood lighting, table seating and wireless phone charging.
Some are equipped with the SmartVision system, which replaces traditional mirrors with high-definition digital cameras and displays mounted inside the cab.
Andrew Jarvis, First Glasgow managing director, says: “This investment marks the end of our second phase of new bus launches linked with the Glasgow low emissions zone (LEZ) and takes us a long way toward compliance for phase 2.”
He adds: “There is much more to come as we look to continue our mission to improve air quality in the cities and towns in which we operate, and planning is already underway for our next phase of investments.”