Green investment by bus firm highlighted

Go North East marked Clean Air Day yesterday with the message for people in the region that bus travel is safe, clean and essential to reducing congestion and improving air quality.

The company says its green credentials were boosted further recently with investment into new buses that are environmentally-friendly.

This includes new and refreshed buses across its routes and zero-emissions, full electric buses are set to enter service at the end of next month, initially operating in the northern part of its patch.

Go North East’s managing director, Martijn Gilbert, said: “We’re delighted to introduce these high-specification buses across the region, helping revolutionise bus travel for the people of the North East and making them an even more viable alternative to many car journeys.

“We’re excited to welcome the region’s first latest generation, zero-emissions, full electric buses next month and if we’re serious about improving air quality, public transport needs to be better supported and fully embraced by more people.

“We’ve put considerable efforts into ensuring our services are clean and safe, with extra sanitisation measures and additional capacity deployed to move customers safely.

“This also follows recent initiatives to reduce many fares and provide more flexible ticketing, reflecting the growth in part-time and shared home office working patterns.

“Air pollution data from DEFRA shows the substantial impact traffic congestion can cause – so even if you can change your lifestyle slightly by catching the bus just once a month, it can make a significant difference to our air quality.”