These 120 buses are part of a framework agreement which provides for the procurement of up to 800 zero-emission battery-electric buses over a period of five years.
The buses – Streetdeck Electroliner BEVs – will be manufactured and assembled at the Wrightbus facility in Galgorm, on the outskirts of Ballymena in Northern Ireland.
These will be the first battery-electric double-deck buses to be added to the national bus fleet in Ireland and their addition will deliver a significant uplift in the proportion of low- or zero-emission buses within that fleet.
As they incorporate a fully battery-electric powertrain, the buses will operate with zero tailpipe emissions, which will contribute to a substantial improvement in air quality in the cities and towns in which they are deployed.
This initial order for 120 buses represents an investment of some €80.4m.
Of the 120 buses currently on order, 100 are destined for use by Dublin Bus on PSO bus services within the Dublin Metropolitan Area and 20 are destined for use by Bus Éireann for use in the Limerick Metropolitan Area. Buses from future orders may also be used to operate PSO bus services in other parts of Ireland, including the metropolitan areas of Cork, Galway and Waterford.
Commissioning and training activities will get under way later this year, as will work on installing the necessary charging infrastructure. The first buses are expected to enter passenger service in 2023.
The buses will be outshopped in the green, white and yellow Transport For Ireland (TFI) livery which is in the course of being applied to all buses and coaches in the PSO fleet.
Passenger facilities onboard include seating for up to 65 passengers; a permanent wheelchair space; a dedicated area for the accommodation of a pram, pushchair or buggy; prominent and distinctive priority seating; high-definition real-time passenger information displays; USB charging sockets; and complimentary Wi-Fi.
Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan said: “We know that decarbonising transport is imperative, as part of our effort to tackle climate change. Public transport because it is shared mobility is already a far more sustainable and economical way of getting around, particularly compared to a private car that runs on fossil fuel, and the battery-electric buses that we are now ordering, will accelerate the transition to a zero-emission fleet.