‘Intelligent’ lighting to be installed at Stagecoach UK bus depots

Transport group Stagecoach is to trial a new ‘intelligent’ lighting system at bus depots across the UK as part of its commitment to reducing carbon emissions.

The Perth-based company is installing the new system – which uses movement detectors to determine the amount of light required – at six UK bus depots in Ayr, Glasgow, Nuneaton, Leamington Spa, Gloucester and Chichester.

The lights, which are supplied by Contrac Lighting, automatically switch off when they are not required. In addition, when switched on, they also automatically dim to the required lighting level, dependent on the amount of natural light available.

Based on previous trials, it is expected that the system could reduce the energy consumption used on lighting at the six depots by around 40% as a result of the ‘intelligent’ nature of the technology. This would produce an annual saving of more than 373,000kilowatts per hour (KWh) and save almost 230 tonnes of CO2 over the course of a year.

The new lights are to be installed at all six depots within the next three months. If the results prove successful, the system will be rolled out to all depots across Stagecoach’s UK Bus division.

Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus, Les Warneford said: “We are working hard to become a more sustainable business. As well as our investment in greener vehicles, cleaner fuel and improved recycling, new technology such as this is vital if we are to further reduce our carbon footprint as a business.

“We will also continue to promote the many benefits – both environmental and financial – of bus travel to help attract even more people on to our greener, smarter services.”

The installation of the new lighting system is the latest in a string of measures being taken by Stagecoach to reduce its carbon footprint as a business.

The Group has launched a sustainability strategy and is investing £11million in a range of measures to meet its environmental targets. The Group is targeting an overall reduction of 8% in buildings CO2 emissions and a cut of 3% in annual fleet transport CO2e emissions by 2014. It follows a reduction in the carbon intensity of its UK businesses of 5.7% in the three years to 30 April 2009.

It is estimated the five-year programme, from 2009-10 to 2013-14, will save a total of nearly 150,000 tonnes of CO2e, with the Group’s annual emissions reduced by around 40,000 tonnes CO2e by April 2014.

Last year, Stagecoach Group was awarded the prestigious Carbon Trust Standard after taking action on climate change by measuring and reducing its carbon emissions. Stagecoach is the first Scottish-based transport group – and one of only two listed UK public transport operators – to have achieved the stretching carbon reduction benchmark. It covers all of the Group’s bus and rail operations in the UK.

At its UK Bus division, Stagecoach has also recently installed new lighting controls at four depots which use low energy lighting but did not previously have a control system in place. The recently installed system – which is manufactured by Setsquare – automatically turns the lights off when they are not required and has so far reduced energy usage by an average of 10% at the Chesterfield, Walkergate, Ashton and Hyde Road depots.

The Group has also cut annual heating energy consumption at the UK Bus division by around 35% in the past three years following the introduction of a hi-tech energy management system at more than 100 sites in Scotland, England and Wales.

Stagecoach also recently announced the introduction of a similar ‘intelligent’ lighting system at six stations across its South West Trains network.

For further information about Stagecoach bus services, visit www.stagecoachbus.com