New buses part of firm’s £10.3m package

Scotland’s largest independent bus company has ordered 26 state-ofthe-art, low-emission buses as part of a £10.3 million investment package.

McGill’s Buses, owned by the Greenock-based Easdale brothers, has announced that Alexander Dennis, of Falkirk, will be supplying them with Enviro200 single deck buses.

These will be delivered by the end of March next year at a cost of £4.8 million and as part of a £8.3 million investment in new vehicles.

This brings McGill’s total investment in the past 18 months to £10.3 million, including not only buses but a separate significant investment in IT, ticketing and electronic technology.

The order includes 15 longer 11.5m buses, which will have high-backed seats and will be fitted with USB charging ports.

All 26 buses are certified as low emission buses by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership and the Carbon Trust.

McGill’s will use the new buses across its Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and Glasgow networks.

Company chairman James Easdale said: “We are delighted to support a Scottish bus manufacturer and my brother Sandy and I are particularly proud that we have done this deal entirely free of subsidies, which is quite unusual in the current business climate.

“Given there is great uncertainty in the business environment at the moment, this is a strong commitment to the Scottish transport infrastructure as well as the economy at large.”