Reading Buses has announced that it has secured the funding it needs to buy a new fleet of gas-powered buses.
It chose to use asset financing to raise the funds it needed to replace part of its diesel fleet with a gas-powered one. Reading Buses is already running 14 of the new vehicles, with a finance package from Barclays being created to allow the purchase of another 14.
This week, Tony Pettit, Reading Buses’ director of resources, told The Reading Post:
“[Barclays] are strongly supporting our increased development in vehicle fleet, products and services following the start of our partnership with them a year ago. As a result of their backing we can improve the quality and quantity of the services we are able to provide across the network.”
The buses are not only greener, but provide a smoother and quieter ride for passengers. However, the main reason for switching to gas is environmental. These buses produce no soot, hardly any carbon, no hydrocarbons, and very low levels of Nitrogen Oxides in comparison to the existing fleet.
In May 2013, the first vehicles were delivered, which are currently in use on five routes. Once the second batch arrives, more journeys will be added.
The expansion of the fleet is likely to continue. Initially, Reading Buses was only going to order 20 buses, but it has already bought 28. New financing will be necessary for further additions.
The use of asset refinance techniques to fund new vehicles is growing. Asset finance specialists like DJB help hundreds of firms to buy the vehicles they need to expand.
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