Longest electric circular bus route launches in Leicester

Leicester City Council has spent £2.11m on the project

The longest electric circular bus route in the UK is launching in Leicester.

The 30-mile Orbital service will replace the existing 40 Circleline route, and will connect estates and suburbs on the outer ring road.

Leicester City Council has spent £2.11m on the project, which it says will improve air quality and reduce yearly operating costs by more than £60,000.

The buses will serve sites including Leicester General Hospital, Fosse Park, Meridian and Glenfield Hospital.

They will come into operation from 24 October and will remove a predicted 177 tonnes of CO2 emissions from the city per year, according to the council.

Councillor Adam Clarke, Leicester deputy city mayor for transport, clean air and climate emergency, said: "The Orbital route is a very well-used service, and switching over to the latest electric vehicles means another significant part of the city's public transport system will now benefit from cleaner, more modern buses."

The circular route is 30 miles long and goes in two directions

The new route will run in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. It will serve Evington, Oadby, Wigston, Eyres Monsell, Aylestone, Fosse Park, Meridian, Thorpe Astley, Braunstone Frith, Glenfield, Glenfield Hospital, Beaumont Leys, Mowmacre Hill, Belgrave, Rushey Mead, Hamilton, Netherhall, Thurnby Lodge, Goodwood, and Leicester General Hospital.

The Orbital service is now the fifth service launched to be using new council-owned electric buses, which have been partially funded by £1.21m from the Department for Transport's Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme.

The partnership project, with Centrebus, also includes a new electric bus charging depot at the firm's Thurmaston depot.