Shetland Islands Council is launching new electric bus trials – to see how battery-powered vehicles work in local conditions.
Two buses will be travelling throughout Shetland, with the first 27-seater vehicle arriving this morning, Tuesday 21st of January. This will be closely followed by a second full-sized bus in early February.
The four-month trials will see how the vehicles perform on Shetland roads, in Shetland weather and how they compare to established diesel vehicles. The trials will cost about £200,000 and are fully-funded by the UK Government’s Innovate UK fund, as part of the Rural Energy Hub project. The Council is leasing the buses for the trials, which will allow local bus operators the opportunity to try the technology at first-hand.
The trials will include journeys with and without passengers, but will not be used for public services. Information gathered from the trials will be analysed to see if electric buses are a viable alternative for public transport in Shetland.
Moraig Lyall, Chair of the Council’s Environment and Transport Committee says: “Electric buses are already being used quite widely on mainland Scotland. It's important for us to see how these vehicles perform in our network compared to other places, how they stand up to Shetland weather, and what they deliver in terms mileage and performance.
“Part of these trials will be without passengers, but we intend to gather data and feedback on journeys with people onboard too. Having local bus drivers involved is key to this project and we hope this will give bus operators a chance to consider adding such vehicles in future.
“It’s great to have external funding to allow both the council and operators the opportunity to assess the viability of electric buses in our islands before any future decisions to adopt this technology.”