Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and BYD UK jointly announced that their electric vehicle partnership, the UK’s leading electric bus producer, has supplied five BYD ADL Enviro400EV zero emission double deck buses to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and bus operator First Bus for the new Stourton Park & Ride service in Leeds.
The electric buses are owned and operated by First West Yorkshire under contract with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority who secured funding from the Department for Transport’s Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme.
Built in Yorkshire at ADL’s factory in Scarborough, each 10.8m long BYD ADL Enviro400EV offers up to 69 comfortable seats and has a range of up to 160 miles on a single charge of its cobalt-free BYD Iron-Phosphate Batteries.
The site at Stourton is the first solar-powered Park & Ride in the UK. It is also the third Park & Ride site in Leeds. The scheme is delivered in partnership with Connecting Leeds at Leeds City Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and First West Yorkshire, which operates the service.
Departing up to every 10 minutes, the new zero emission double deckers take less than 15 minutes to smoothly and quietly deliver motorists from the site at the M621 motorway to the heart of Leeds city centre.
Stourton Park & Ride boasts 45 solar panels that cover the size of 18 tennis courts and generate the capacity to power the entire site’s electrical needs via an innovative battery storage system. Other features of the new Park & Ride site include 26 fast electric vehicle charging ports and 4 rapid chargers totalling 30 EV charging spaces, secure bicycle storage and 1,200 vehicle spaces.
As well as using solar panels to generate electricity for lighting, electric vehicle charging, CCTV security and heat for the terminus building and waiting room, the design of the site has also considered opportunities to achieve benefits of nature. Over 11,000 trees and shrubs create an attractive environment for people using the facilities, walking or cycling, to enjoy. The terminus building features a ‘green roof’, helping to reduce urban air temperatures and creating a habitat for wildlife.
