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Nearly four years after Jersey's bid to bring electric buses to the island hit a number of roadblocks, Guernsey is now giving it a go.
From today, zero-emissions electric bus is being trialled in Guernsey from today, and islanders have been invited to take part in a 'mock bus trip' over the coming days.
The trial is the result of a partnership between the island's Environment and Infrastructure Committee, Pelican Engineering and CT Plus, the island's bus service, which shares a parent company Jersey's LibertyBus.
The bus, a Yutong E9, has 23 seats and further room for up to 62 passengers including wheelchairs.
The vehicle is believed to be able to travel around 200 miles on a single charge, while the average daily mileage of a Guernsey bus is around 100 miles.
Pictured: The back of the Yutong E9.
The manufacturer’s website states that the bus is “highly manoeuvrable, and ideal for both rural and urban application”, with the first delivery of orders set for March 2023.
In August 2019, a double decker electric bus - a Metrodecker EV - was trialled in Jersey for six weeks, though, after repeated breakdowns, it was deemed unsuitable for the island's roads.
A follow-up trial with a single decker bus was scheduled for February 2020, but had to be delayed due to supply issues.
In June 2021, the then-Infrastructure Minister Deputy Kevin Lewis said that costs were a key reason as to why the island had not gone electric with its bus fleet.
Two months later, a spokesperson for the Infrastructure Department went a step further when questioned by Express as to why the new Town Hopper service did not include any electric vehicles despite a stated ambition to decarbonise public transport as part of a push towards carbon neutrality by 2030.
They said that "there are no Jersey-compatible zero-emission buses or large commercial vehicles on the market yet which are suited for our roads."
"We will continue to monitor global market trends and look out for any opportunities in the future to source an electric vehicle," the spokesperson added.
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Yes people, that is more "do as I say and not as I do" rhetoric for you to swallow. Yup, just love it!!