First Aberdeen announces £3.5 million investment in new buses

First Group Enviro 300 Bus

First Aberdeen, the city’s leading bus operator, today announced a £3.5 million investment in 23 brand new single decker buses.

First Group Enviro 300 Bus

The investment in new buses, which are being manufactured by Falkirk based Alexander Dennis Limited, underlines the company’s commitment to encourage more people on to its services.

The new buses will enter service from June and First will reveal which route they are to run on shortly.

All the new buses will be fitted with leather seats and passengers will be able to enjoy complementary wi-fi on board. Meanwhile, the interior of each new vehicle has been modified to allow greater flexibility for both buggies and wheelchairs whilst providing additional grab rails for all passengers whether seated or standing.

Director and General Manager of First Aberdeen, Duncan Cameron, said: “This is good news for our customers. Our £3.5million investment in 23 brand new buses reflects our aim to improve services for our customers and our commitment to encourage more people to use our services and to use them more often.

“The introduction of complementary wi-fi is something that we are keen to explore further. Clearly, our customers increasingly use mobile phones and tablets on our buses and will no doubt welcome the opportunity of accessing free wi-fi. We expect it to prove popular and therefore we will explore the possibility of introducing it to other services.”

He continued: “We are looking forward to the arrival of our new buses next month – our drivers can’t wait to get them out on the road! Indeed, I’m sure the investment in our fleet will be widely welcomed by our customers.”

The new vehicles are Enviro 300s, built by Falkirk based manufacturer Alexander Dennis. They all come fitted with low floor access and have the latest Euro V engines.

The investment in new vehicles is part of a range of actions that First Aberdeen is progressing to improve bus travel for its customers:

• First Aberdeen’s punctuality and reliability performance has never been better with 95% of all services leaving their terminus on time.
• The company is in the middle of a fleet refresh programme which will improve the exterior and interiors of many of its buses.
• In June First will take delivery of 23 brand new single deck buses.
• In its most recent fares review (March 2013) First confirmed that it would freeze or reduce the majority of its ticket types.
• First has launched a ‘Customer Promise’ whereby passengers can claim a free travel voucher if they are unhappy with any aspect of the service (within First’s control).
• First Aberdeen has secured the services of 13 regular customers to form a Customer Panel to provide mystery shopper evaluations on its bus services
• The company has run a number of promotions on various routes within its network in recent months. Similar campaigns will operate more regularly in the future.