Stagecoach upgraded its energy management system to cut energy consumption at its bus depots in UK

• System helps save 55,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the past 10 years
• £2.2m investment saves more than £7.8m in energy bills

Perth, Scotland, 2014-04-9 — /Travel PR News/ — Transport operator Stagecoach has cut energy consumption at its bus depots in the UK following the introduction of an upgraded energy management system.

The Perth-based transport group has in place a hi-tech energy management system provided by Vickers Electronics which controls heating and lighting at the company’s 110 depots across the UK. In 2011, Stagecoach committed to upgrading the system which now allows the Group to improve monitoring and control of its gas heating system through the introduction of hi-tech control panels with remote access management which provide greater reliability and avoid waste.

Results show that the technology has helped Stagecoach to save around 55,000 tonnes of CO2 in the past 10 years – the equivalent of the emissions produced by powering 22,000 homes for a year*.

The use of the remote access facility, managed from Vickers’ HQ, across all the sites was monitored and audited.  A recent sample of results from 19 individual Stagecoach UK Bus depots showed a reduction in energy consumption of around 46% when comparing the summer months (June, July and August) of 2012 with the same months in 2013. When the sample results were projected across all of Stagecoach’s 110 depots, it equated to an environmental saving of a further 280 tonnes of CO2 and a financial saving of more than £45,000 during the period of the comparison.

Stagecoach has invested a total of more than £2.2million in the Vickers system, which has been rolled out to all of the company’s UK bus depots. Results show that the Group has saved more than £7.8m in energy bills in the 10 years that the different systems have been in place.

Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus Robert Montgomery said: “We’ve invested a significant amount of money in this system and we are really starting to see the benefits now in terms of the energy savings, and the knock-on financial savings, that it is delivering across our operations.

“Sustainability is at the heart of our operations and we are continuing to implement new measures to help cut our carbon footprint and encourage more people on to our greener, smarter bus and rail services.”

Malcolm McKinlay of Vickers Electronics said “Vickers are very proud of the long relationship with Stagecoach and of the dramatic carbon and financial savings we have been able to deliver.   We have worked very closely with all the team at Stagecoach, at both local and national level, and it’s great to work with a client where everyone is committed to the goal of providing good service whilst reducing their impact on the environment.”

In 2010, Stagecoach Group launched Revolution in the Way We Travel, a five-year plan to reduce further the carbon emissions from its transport operations in the UK and North America. The strategy has been supported by an £11million green investment programme. Employee initiatives and eco teams set up by staff have also helped drive dramatic improvements in energy and carbon efficiency.

The Group has delivered its targets 12 months ahead of schedule, and has cut its carbon intensity by 30% in the past five years. It has also achieved an overall absolute reduction of 8% in carbon emissions from buildings and a cut of 3% in annual carbon emissions per vehicle mile from fleet transport.

To maintain the momentum of the Group’s programme, work is now underway to develop a new five-year strategy. This will include identifying further cost-effective energy-saving opportunities, continuing investment to make the business greener, and setting new targets around carbon reduction, water consumption and waste recycling rates.

Stagecoach Group has delivered a number of initiatives as part of its carbon reduction programme, including:

• investing in a hi-tech eco-driving system, which is installed in around 7,000 buses and is helping to reduce fuel consumption at the Group’s bus division by 3%. The scheme also offers employees the chance to earn “green points” that are converted into financial benefits from a potential £900,000 annual bonus pot.
• becoming the UK bus industry’s leading investor in new hybrid electric buses, which deliver a 30% reduction in carbon emissions compared to standard vehicles. The Group now has around 270 hybrid electric buses in service across the UK.
• introducing a fleet of gas buses in Sunderland and working with partners in Aberdeen to introduce hydrogen-powered vehicles in 2014.
• investing almost £545 million over the past seven years in new buses and coaches for the UK with greener engines.
• installing a new ‘intelligent’ lighting system, which uses movement sensors to determine the amount of light required, at a number of bus depots and railway stations across the UK and in North America.
• investing £2.2 million at South West Trains in a major regenerative braking project to save energy on more than 200 trains.
• introducing an innovative energy-saving engine standby system to reduce carbon emissions from idling trains.
• implementing new contracts for waste and recycling at East Midlands Trains which has helped increase the recycling rate at stations to over 70%.
• cutting gas and energy consumption at South West Trains’ 20 largest stations by 9%, saving 110 tonnes of carbon.

Last year, figures compiled as part of the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme showed that Stagecoach Group is among the top 10% of large companies in the UK for its performance in reducing the carbon emissions from its business.

Further information about Stagecoach Group can be found at www.stagecoach.com

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact:  Stagecoach Group Communications on 01738 442111 or email: media@stagecoachgroup.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

*Based on the average household consumption data from Southern Electric which works to a typical annual usage of 13,500kWh of gas per year. 1kWh of gas burned produces 0.1844kg of CO2 – therefore 13,500 kWh of gas contains 2.489 tonnes of CO2 so 55,000 tonnes of CO2 saved is the equivalent to the consumption of 22,000 average households.

Stagecoach Group

• Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The Group employs around 35,000 people, and operates bus, coach, train, and tram services.
• Stagecoach is one of UK’s biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,000 buses and coaches.  Around 2.5 million passengers travel on Stagecoach’s buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.  The Group’s business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle,   Hull,   Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates between around 60 towns and cities across the UK.
• Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast inter-city rail franchise.
• Stagecoach also operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.
• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,900 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. Megabus.com links around 130 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter and transit services, contracted bus services, charters, sightseeing tours and a small number of school bus services.

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