29 August 2008
Varied role for adaptable buses
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SPT Chair Alistair Watson and Eric Allan, school headteacher |
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Residents and school children in the North Ayrshire Council area are set to be the first group to benefit from a new adaptable buses contract awarded by SPT.
Under the terms of the new five-year contract, SPT will purchase and supply two new-style vehicles for use on the St Matthew's Secondary School run in Ardrossan.
Outside school run hours, the new generation buses will operate as part of local bus Services 12/585 on the Saltcoats to Stevenson/Largs route.
The contract, worth almost £900,000, was recently awarded to Stagecoach West Scotland and is partly funded by North Ayrshire Council.
St Matthew's Secondary School accounts for one of the biggest school runs in the SPT area, carrying up to 1,500 pupils each day across a wide geographical area.
Stagecoach West Scotland will lease the buses from SPT, supply the drivers and take responsibility for the operating costs of the vehicles.
Another plus for the new style buses is their low environmental impact - SPT has made an £8,000 one-off payment to Stagecoach West Scotland to convert them to run on greener Bio Diesel fuel.
The yellow buses were built by Alexander Dennis Ltd, in Falkirk and have been designed to adapt to specific requirements. Depending on the route, seats can be added or removed to provide more floor space.
They can be quickly converted by the driver to operate as part of a school run, as a standard bus on a regular route, or for groups of disabled passengers.
They are designed to make maximum use of low floors and are capable of carrying up to three wheelchairs, unlike current standard buses.
SPT Chair Councillor Alistair Watson said: "This is the latest stage in SPT’s drive to improve bus standards and in finding solutions to delivering the best local transport efficiently.
"By working closely with bus operators and our local authority partners, we’ve come up with a solution that benefits everyone.
"Through the new contract arrangements, we’re making optimum use of these fantastic Scottish-built buses to create a step change in the quality of school transport at an affordable price to the public purse."
North Ayrshire Councillor John Bell, executive member for young people, said: "These innovative buses will bring flexibility and increased efficiency to the school run at St Matthew's.
"My thanks to the SPT for choosing this route for this new generation of buses and I hope we will see many more in the future."