New Hereford buses in company's five-year plan to stay ahead

Sargeants Buses, based in Kington, are running the new bus on selected routes in Hereford and will be looking to expand its fleet of electric vehicles in the coming years.

Matthew Evans, director of Sargeants, says that this plan has been in the pipeline for a year.

He said: "We started on this journey about 12 months ago when we trialled an electric bus on rural routes. At first we were concerned that we wouldn't be able to get a full day of driving between charging the vehicles.

Passengers using the new electric bus at Hereford City Bus Station. Picture: Sargeants (Image: Sargeants buses)

"However with this latest generation of electric bus that we are using we are getting upwards of 200 miles a day out of them when they are brand new, which is fantastic and allows us to run the bus without interruption until it is recharged at our new Hereford depot in Faraday Road."

Mr Evans said that they are looking to the future and that more sustainable transport options are part of that, and he wants Sargeants to be ahead of the curve.

"We have a plan in place for the next five years, by which time we hope that a good proportion of our fleet will be electric.

"Obviously on some of our more rural routes such as the 461 to Llandrindod Wells it might logistically be harder to implement quickly, but as the technology continues to improve then hopefully these will also be able to be electrified."