Melton operator reveals how modern buses can play crucial role in environmental challenge
Melton Mowbray bus operator, Stagecoach East Midlands, has highlighted the way that its modern fleet of buses can play a crucial role in tackling climate change, reducing local pollution, and getting the region moving.
Figures revealed for Better Transport Week (16 to 22 June), show that if we all took the bus instead of the car just twice a month, by 2050 this would create a reduction of 15.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – a crucial ‘greenhouse gas’.
A shift in how you travel can also bring wider health and societal benefits – for example, cumulative reductions in congestion valued at £29.4 billion and cumulative health benefits worth £14.9 billion – enough to build 33 new NHS hospitals.
The figures also revealed that:
- Bus commuters add £64 billion to the UK economy each year.
- One double-decker bus can take up to 75 cars off our roads.
- Buses are integral to our local communities, connecting millions of people, tackling loneliness, cutting traffic and reducing air pollution.
- Buses are the UK's most used form of public transport.
Air pollution currently costs our health services £20 billion every year, and buses play a key role in reducing its impact, with modern, sophisticated vehicles and particularly the electric buses run by Stagecoach in the region.
Early this week, Stagecoach East Midlands celebrated Clean Air Day by “surprising and delighting” lucky customers. Operations Managers from each depot across the region picked a bus passenger at random and gave them a free month’s travel.
Across its range, it works hard to keep the air clean locally, using modern, technologically advanced buses and ensuring that they are maintained to the highest standards, to reduce pollution.
It is also investing many millions of pounds, together with partners, on a range of electric buses, which give zero tailpipe emissions. New electric vehicles will start to hit the region’s roads at the end of this year, with Hull scheduled to have 55 and Mansfield 65.
Matt Cranwell, Managing Director of Stagecoach East Midlands, said: “Everyone who works on the buses in our region are working very hard to offer a service which offers the convenience, reliability and value that our passengers deserve. The communities that we bring together mean such a lot to all of us – we wake up every morning wanting to prove the value of our service to our customers, and Better Transport Week is an excellent opportunity to do just that.
“We are lucky to live and work in an exciting and dynamic region, and we are proud to be at the heat of that – providing jobs for local people and helping our local economies to thrive in a truly sustainable way.”
-- To find out more about local bus routes and services, and to track your local bus, you can download the Stagecoach Bus App from https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/national/stagecoachbusapp.