Published: Tuesday, 8th December, 2009 9:00am

Another new bus fleet for route 17

by Adam Hewitt

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THE town's busiest bus route will soon see hybrid-engine double-deckers after a successful trial and a Government cash injection.

Reading Transport Ltd (RTL) has won £2,166,500 from the Department for Transport's Green Bus Fund towards 20 dual diesel-electric buses, one of which was trialled on route 17 in October and proved that it can save fuel by switching between the two modes depending on driving conditions.

The £30m Green Bus Fund is for transport companies to help pay for low-carbon buses. Of the 24 successful bids announced on Friday, Reading's was the sixth largest, behind companies running buses in Manchester, London, Oxford, Bristol and Bath.

The funding is to pay for the 'additional' £108,000 cost of the hybrid element of the dual-fuel buses. The remaining cost of each of the 20 ADL Enviro 440H buses, roughly £190,000 per bus, will come from RTL funds.

Chief executive James Freeman said: "We are delighted to have been successful in gaining part-funding from the Green Bus Fund towards the purchase of our next new buses. These will continue to emphasise RTL's commitment to the green agenda. There are a number of hybrid buses on the market now, and the ADL Enviro 400 seems to be the best of these. A batch has been operating in London over the past year and performing very well indeed.

"We recently trialled one of these buses on Premier Route 17. It impressed everybody including drivers, passengers and workshop staff. Very significant features of these buses is exceptional fuel consumption - for a modern double-decker bus - of 7mpg or more and an extremely smooth ride, resulting from the absence of a gearbox and the use of electric drive instead."

Mr Freeman told the Chronicle last month that he expected annual diesel savings to be worth around £75,000. The current buses on route 17, which are being converted to run on diesel after the bio-ethanol fuel scandal earlier this year when the fuel turned out to be coming from Scandinavia instead of sugar waste from Norfolk, will be shifted onto other routes.

Lib Dem transport spokesman Cllr Ricky Duveen said: "This is very good news for Reading and will be another major step in reducing both pollution and our carbon footprint."

Transport minister Sadiq Khan said: "Tackling vehicle carbon emissions is a question of when not if, and it's initiatives like this which will deliver the change we need."