London buses for Halifax

Chris Armour and Brandon Jones, from First Bus, with the new green bus, in Halifax Town Centre

First displayed its New Routemaster in Halifax town centre and gave the public the opportunity to explore the state-of-the-art double-deckers that could be rolled-out across the region within 18 months.

The new buses are more accessible for customers who use wheelchairs and buggies with wider doors, larger bays and a flat entrance from kerb-level.

Chris Armour of First Bus (pictured) said: “With the centre door, wheelchair users will be able to get on and off the bus much easier.

The new First Bus green bus, in Halifax Town Centre

“While we maintain the philosophy of quicker boarding, we still want to make sure we have enough room for customers with mobility issues.”

The buses use a mixture of electric and diesel technology, and release around half the carbon emissions of standard diesel engines.

Chris said: “This has a big battery-powered engine, and most of the time the bus will be slow-running so it will operate purely on battery power.

“It has a small four litre engine that kicks in when the battery is running and charges it up while on the road.”

Brandon Jones of First Bus (pictured) said the company is looking to have a fleet of fully electric buses within the next decade.

He said: “Moving forward we’re looking at the possibility of moving our fleet to full electric - at the moment we’ve got full electric single-decks in York, so we believe in a few years we’ll have full electric double-decks.”

The new bus is being considered as Metro is consulting on the future of bus routes across the district.