National Express is trialling a brand new electric coach running between London and Stansted Airport north of the capital. The vehicle provides LED ‘mood lighting’ for its passengers, reclining seats and wireless charging for devices onboard.
If the pilot is deemed successful the coach operator’s commercial director, John Boughton, did not rule out the prospect of other airports, such as Heathrow, Luton and Gatwick, also being served by the more eco friendly vehicles when speaking to MyLondon during the unveiling.
It comes amid a wider shift towards passengers using public transport – including the Stansted Express – to travel to and from Stansted, officials say.
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National Express is the first firm in the country to trial Yutong’s brand-new ‘state-of-the-art’ GTe14 model, which will be in service for four weeks. This latest trial follows a previous pilot in 2020 when bosses tested Yutong’s previous TCe12 model on the A9 service between Stansted and Stratford.
Customers, bosses say, can expect a ‘smoother, quieter, and cleaner ride’. This together with ‘all the modern comforts’ such as air conditioning and a ‘generous’ luggage allowance.
Mr Broughton said: “We’re helping to push the coach industry forward, driving innovation and efficiencies in vehicles and infrastructure as we work towards a zero emission UK coach fleet. At the same time, we’re delighted to be supporting our partners such as Stansted Airport to achieve their own sustainability goals.
“More and more people are choosing to travel with National Express as a reliable, convenient and affordable way to get around, and we’re responding by investing in new vehicles and technology and delivering a brilliant customer experience.”
Gareth Powell, managing director at Stansted Airport, said: We’re fully committed to the sustainable and responsible growth of London Stansted, so we are delighted to support this exciting and unique trial by National Express of a brand-new electric coach on airport services to and from London. We have already taken great strides to reduce our emissions at the airport.
“We have sourced all our electricity from renewable sources since April 2013, and airport operations under our direct control have been recognised as carbon neutral since 2018. Our focus is to continue driving forward on our commitment to reach net zero carbon operations by 2038 and will soon begin construction of a 14.3MW solar farm to meet the airport’s current and increasing electricity demands, including from the growing use of private and commercial electric vehicles.
“This trial of a battery-electric coach is another great example of exploring innovative ways with our airport partners such as National Express to continue driving down carbon emissions across all airport-related activity.”
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