AN ECO-FRIENDLY solution to transport has been trialled in Reading this week.
Reading Buses is currently testing out the latest electric bus on the purple 17 route between Wokingham Road and Tilehurst.
For the past seven days, it has given its new wheels a spin and now wants to hear customers’ thoughts.
“Electric technology is reaching a point where we can see that some urban services could reliably be converted to battery electric vehicles in the near future,” said Robert Williams, Reading Buses CEO.
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He said the layout is different to the standard purple 17 buses to make space for the batteries.
Each electric vehicle can travel at least 160 miles between charges.
According to Mr Williams, while some Reading Buses routes cover more than 250 miles per day, he hopes the Wokingham Road journey will be within the lower limit.
“We are teaming up with manufacturers BYD and Alexander Dennis to give their latest London double decker a try to gather as much real-life data as possible from running the bus in Reading,” he added.
The trial comes following Reading Borough Council’s bid to the government’s Zero Emissions Bus Regional Area fund.
If successful, Reading Buses could place its first orders next year.