Skip to main content

Lothian introduces electric bus fleet, Edinburgh

Lothian Buses has launched a fleet of six fully electric vehicles to operate in Edinburgh Service 1 route to reduce emissions and improve air quality in the area. The company claims its fleet will carry 1.8 million customers each year throughout the hilly terrain. The Wrightbus Street Air single deck buses (WSASDB) operate on pure electric powertrain, including an all-electric heating and cooling system, and have regenerative braking allows energy to be recovered to the batteries.
October 5, 2017 Read time: 1 min

Lothian Buses has launched a fleet of six fully electric vehicles to operate in Edinburgh Service 1 route to reduce emissions and improve air quality in the area. The company claims its fleet will carry 1.8 million customers each year throughout the hilly terrain.

The Wrightbus Street Air single deck buses (WSASDB) operate on pure electric powertrain, including an all-electric heating and cooling system, and have regenerative braking allows energy to be recovered to the batteries. Onboard energy storage of 300kW/h provides gives an operating range of up to 210km (130 miles) and recharging the batteries takes three to four hours using a new 75kW charging stations installed at Annandale Street garage.

Passenger facilities include WI-FI, high back seats, USB charging points and LED spotlights. 

Lothian plans to add five more EVs to the service next year, which will make it the Edinburgh’s first fully electric route.

Related Content

  • What happens to an electric car in a frontal crash?
    January 26, 2012
    At the Detroit Auto Show 2011, Volvo Cars is spotlighting the important issue of electric car safety in an unusual, but distinctive way. On the company's stand there is a Volvo C30 Electric that has undergone a frontal collision test at 40 mph (64 km/h).
  • Emissions reductions targets to have major impact on transport
    October 28, 2015
    As bold moves aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions have been introduced in California, David Crawford looks at the ramifications for transportation. California Governor Jerry Brown’s recent dramatic raising of the bar on emissions reduction policy for the state has won him praise from Japan, Australia, Europe and the secretariat of the critical UN conference on climate change being held in Paris in November/December 2015. His April 2015 executive order aimed at bringing emissions to 40% below 1990 lev
  • EVs are creating more and more of their own electricity, say IDTechEx Research
    May 31, 2017
    The latest report from IDTechEx Research, Electric Vehicle Energy Harvesting/Regeneration 2017-2037, explains and forecasts the technologies involved in this key enabling technology. EH/R will be as important and sometimes more important than motors, batteries and power electronics: fabulous opportunities await vehicle, parts and material manufacturers unplugging into this future.
  • ChargeWheel sparks mobile EV charging in San Francisco
    August 16, 2019
    ChargeWheel has secured $1 million in funding to launch a mobile electric vehicle (EV) charging network in the San Francisco Bay Area. The network will be based on ChargeWheel’s mobile Energy Trailers, which don’t require a connection to the grid, and can therefore operate in any car park. The company says they offer a combined solar-powered generation and energy storage solution, and plans to deploy 100 in the Bay Area by the end of 2019. The units can simultaneously charge four EVs or up to 400 elec