Eight new all-electric Alexander Dennis buses will soon be used to shuttle Sky staff around the broadcasting giant’s campus locations in Livingston and Osterley.
The fruit of the ongoing partnership between battery manufacturer BYD and bus brand Alexander Dennis (ADL), these Enviro200EV buses will be provided by Dawsongroup bus and coach (DGBC) and operated by Cobra Corporate Services Limited on behalf of Sky.
Two of these british-built electric single deck buses are already in action at Sky’s base at Livingston near Edinburgh, shuttling telecommunications call centre staff around the campus. The remaining six buses are heading to Sky’s UK headquarters in Osterley on the outskirts of London, which is the heart of the company’s broadcast operation.
The driving motivation behind the purchase is the pursuit of emissions targets, says Steve Dowling, Director at Cobra Corporate Services Limited. “After many months of research, discussions and preparation to ensure the correct products were used, BYD ADL are the right choice of electric bus for us to integrate into the Sky Zero strategy.”
Sky has plans to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and as these new zero-emission buses will replace combustion-powered buses, Sky and its transport partners are hoping this electrified project will contribute to that goal.
Choosing a manufacturer with a consistent track record and ‘eBus’ expertise was no doubt a key focus for Dawsongroup and Cobra too. The partnership between Alexander Dennis and BYD has produced around 1,400 electric buses for UK roads so far, which ADL says are already delivering significantly lower cost of operation for its clients.
The bus manufacturer says that charging instructure for these Enviro200EV units is “easily deployable and more than flexible enough to comply with relevant building and planning regulations”, and says that these eBuses are part of a “quiet revolution” taking place in the public transport industry, providing cleaner air and lower noise levels for city streets.
