01/04/2014

EU Invests £5.2m In NI Buses

EU investment of £5.2m is to be put towards an investment of over £14m for 79 new buses for Northern Ireland.

The successful bid for EU funding is the result of inter-departmental working between Danny Kennedy's Department for Regional Development (DRD) and Arlene Foster's Department for Enterprise Trade and Investment (DETI)

The investment will go towards the purchase of 42 Metro double deck buses, ten Metro single deck buses and 27 midi buses (2 Metro and 25 Ulsterbus). Some of the new Metro vehicles will arrive in the summer, with the remainder arriving in the autumn.

Minister Kennedy said: "The new buses will replace older vehicles and comply with modern European emission standards helping Translink further reduce the environmental impact of the fleet. Securing EU support to part fund this investment will benefit passengers for many years to come.

"Volvo is supplying 42 Wrightbus double deck buses for Metro. Optare will provide the ten single deck Metro buses and 27 midi buses.

"Translink will fund £4m for a further 20 single deck buses bringing the total number of new buses to 99 with a total investment of £18m. The procurement for these is due to start in the coming months with delivery expected 2015."

Ciaran Doherty, Translink General Manager, Bus Services said: "These new vehicles will not only be in line with our high fleet standards in terms of quality and comfort but will be even more fuel efficient and more environmentally-friendly with much lower air quality emissions. This is good news for our local towns and cities, helping to improve the overall local air quality and providing a healthier environment for all."

(IT)

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