Maidenhead & Windsor

It’s ‘green for go’ as Windsor and Maidenhead becomes one of the first local authorities in the country to sign up to the eco-friendly challenge on its bus routes around the borough.

Windsor and Maidenhead Passengers will soon be travelling on buses powered by pure plant oil after operator Courtney Coaches headed down the sustainability route and converted its fleet of buses and coaches to work on oils such as rape and soya.

The company has also just ordered 10 new vehicles from bus and coach group Optare which, in partnership with Oxfordshire-based biofuel company Regenatec, is converting them to biofuel. Delivery of the vehicles is scheduled before Christmas. The new buses are all low-floor with CCTV and air conditioning and fully accessible for wheelchair users.

Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough transport officers and Courtney Coaches staff will be teaming up to showcase one of the new green fleet on Saturday December 1 at the Town Hall, Maidenhead, from 10am to 2pm and will be available to answer questions and help promote the borough’s sustainability message. They will be joined during the morning by Maidenhead MP Theresa May and representatives from Regenatec and Optare.

The event will also be an opportunity to listen to the views of bus users – and potential bus users – to get their views about existing services and areas for improvement in the future.

Cllr Colin Rayner, lead member for transport and the environment, said: “We are committed to spreading the sustainability message to all our residents and creating greater awareness of the threat of global warming.

“We are delighted to be able to work with Courtney Coaches to provide bus passengers with a truly environmentally-friendly alternative to the car – and we hope that these measures will encourage more people to use the excellent bus services we operate around the borough. You know it makes sense to catch the bus into town!”

Bill Courtney, managing director of Courtney Coaches, said: “By operating the lowest low-emission vehicles we are demonstrating the importance of focussing on local air quality – and by fuelling our vehicles on sustainably-sourced plant oil we are substantially mitigating the global warming impact of our vehicles.”

Courtney Coaches operates all of the borough’s subsidised bus routes in and around Maidenhead:
· Route 9 from Cox Green via Maidenhead town centre to Boulters Lock
· Route 7a and 7b from Woodlands Park via Maidenhead town centre to Halifax Road
· Route 6 from Cranbrook Drive via Maidenhead town centre to Windsor
· Route 7S (Sundays and bank holidays only) from Bracknell via Woodlands Park and Maidenhead town centre to Cookham)
· Route 239 (Hurley Link) and the M1 dial-a-ride service between Henley, Hurley and Maidenhead.

For further information about the new fleet – and bus services in the Royal Borough in general – contact Melina Campobello, transport officer, on 01628 796537.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead