Caledonia depot, located in Glasgow’s southside, has competed its nine-month overhaul, unveiling 160 new EV rapid-charging points.

Scottish Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth, visited the site to mark the completion of the work, which will allow 150 EVs to be charged at the depot at one time – a feat that the Minister hailed as ‘a game changer’.

The depot will not only support First Bus and its electric fleet in Glasgow, it will also help other organisations operating in the city to decarbonise their own fleets.

First Bus is also trialling the use of its charging infrastructure to third-party businesses during the day when its buses are out on service.

The company now plans to expand the depot further, in partnership with Ofgem and Scottish Power Energy Networks, with the construction of a new substation. This will supply enough power to host an additional 200 vehicles and charging points and will see Caledonia depot home to a total capacity of 350 charging points once built.

More electric vehicles will soon be coming to Glasgow and further afield, too, with First Bus seeing success in the Scottish Government’s ScotZEB funding round; 50 new electric buses are now planned for First Glasgow’s Scotstoun depot, and First Aberdeen’s zero-emission fleet will be bolstered with an additional 24 electric vehicles.

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First Bus Managing Director, Janette Bell, said: “Today marks another major milestone in our decarbonisation journey with the completion of the Glasgow Caledonia electrification project.

“This inspiring project has seen the depot transformed into one of the biggest EV rapid charging hubs of its kind anywhere. To deliver a project of this scale is a magnificent achievement for all the teams involved.

“Caledonia Depot is now our pathfinder project as we roll-out electric vehicles at scale across the rest of the UK and marks a very exciting turning point for both our people and our customers.”

In addition, First Bus and its local authority partners in five regions have been successful in their bid to secure UK Government funding for new electric vehicles through the Zero Emission Buses Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme.

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