Public transport giant Stagecoach delivered a boost to UK manufacturing after it confirmed new bus orders worth £75 million.
The Perth-based firm confirmed a major investment in both its UK and Continental European fleets, with initial orders placed for more than 430 new vehicles.
The company said the majority of the new buses and coaches would be built in the UK, with Falkirk-headquartered Alexander Dennis in which Stagecoach chief executive Sir Brian Souter has a stake through his private family investment vehicle receiving the bulk of the work.
The orders take Stagecoach’s investment in new fleet to more than £445m in the past six years.
Around 380 of new vehicles will be added to Stagecoach’s current UK local bus service fleet, while the company has also made a special order for 10 double-decker sleeper coaches for its megabus network.
A total of 10 left-hand drive coaches are also being purchased to replace ageing vehicles in the expanding European fleet.
A proportion of the new fleet will be low- carbon hybrid or gas powered, although the scale of investment in those type of vehicles will be determined by allocations made in May by the UK’s Green Bus Fund, which recently received a further £20m of Government cash to support energy efficient transport.
Stagecoach UK Bus managing director Les Warneford said the new vehicle investment was underpinned by a continuing trend among commuters of switching from cars to public transport.
“This latest multi-million-pound investment is a great New Year boost for Britain.
“It will deliver better bus services to local communities across the country and will help support British manufacturing jobs,” Mr Warneford said.
“We are continuing to see consumers switch to smarter, better-value bus travelas motorists feel the effect of high fuel prices and the increasing cost of running a car.
“These new buses will also be better for the environment, and continue our market-leading investment in greener technology.”
Alexander Dennis said it would be involved in the build process for 379 of the new vehicles, with work distributed between its factories in Scotland, Guildford in Surrey and at Scarborough in Yorkshire.
A total of 245 of the new buses will be built entirely by the firm, and a further 106 will involve ADL working with chassis provided by Scania or Volvo.
The Courier understands the new order is worth about £50m to Alexander Dennis, the equivalent of just under a tenth of the company’s entire turnover for the year.
A spokesman for the company said: “Our business has a long and historic relationship with Stagecoach and we are delighted to be extending that further in 2013.
“The bus business is all about delivering innovative vehicles.”
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