Mission Zero

Our planet is precious.

That's why it's so important for us - all of us - to do everything we can to look after the environment. For our part, Xplore Dundee is investing millions in greening the city's bus fleet. And you can play your part too, by choosing to use public transport instead of driving private cars. Each of us has a carbon footprint which we can (and must) stamp out to fight the climate crisis. So be a hero and save the world - one trip at a time. Take the bus with us and make change for the better. After all: future generations depend on all of us getting things right - right now.

As your local bus company, we take our responsibility to you and our city very seriously. In recent years, we've been on a journey to zero - with a vision (as part of the McGill's Group) for a cleaner, greener fleet on our network. We've made a commitment to invest in more environmentally friendly vehicles, which reinforces our belief that buses are the solution to pollution.

Click here to follow our progress so far.

Most often, cars run around with just one person in them - but a double deck bus has enough seats to carry 75 passengers. Just imagine how much cleaner our air would be (and how much clearer the roads would be) if more people left the car at home and travelled by bus! It would mean we'd all be much healthier with better air to breathe, and we'd all get around much quicker with less traffic to get stuck in. If you ask us, that sounds like a win-win for everyone.

Back in 2013, we invested nearly £3m in nine electric hybrids - the first buses in Dundee not to be fully powered by diesel. Ever since then, we've upgraded our fleet more and more so that we emit less and less. Of course, buses only make up around 2% of urban traffic, and the higher capacity of our vehicles means that even our oldest buses are less polluting (on a per-passenger basis) than a typical car. Nevertheless, we're doing everything we can to bring in more low- and zero-emission vehicles - because, in a crisis, every action counts. 

Since 2018, we've also boosted air quality by investing £7m in almost two dozen Emeralds - first for service 22, then for services 5/5a | 10. They're high-spec, low-emission buses which offer a superior travel experience with mod-cons such as WiFi, USB charging, next stop announcements, leather seats and extra legroom.

With the help of Scottish Government BEAR funding, we've also brought 40 older buses up to modern standards by retrofitting them with abatement technology. This means we can keep mid-life buses in the fleet for longer, because it would be wasteful to remove them before their time. And this isn't the only TLC they'll be getting: we'll be refurbishing them during 2022 to keep them nice and comfortable for you when you're on-board.

In time for Christmas 2021, we're bringing in a dozen brand-new Electric Emeralds - an investment of £7m. We'll be deploying them on service 28, which means the city's first zero-emission buses will suitably serve Lochee Road (the fourth most polluted street in Scotland). Looking ahead, together with a range of partners, we're also actively exploring future fuels such as hydrogen. Plus: there will soon be even more Electric Emeralds coming off the production line. Raising the money to spend on more new buses is going to be a challenge as we come out of Covid, but we see the environmental goals set by Government as our route to recovery. Because the only way to achieve a Net Zero Scotland is to get people out of their cars and back on the bus.

We're embracing a revolution in our fleet so that we can do things differently - and better. And by choosing to use them, you can too.

Be a hero. Save the world. One trip at a time.