Henley in Arden bus operator Johnsons have been given the green light by the Department for Transport who will issue a grant to the company for over £280000 to spend on electric buses.

Pete Johnson Operations Director of Johnsons Coach & Bus said "I must emphasise that this project is at a very early stage we have a while to take advantage of the grant and much work to be done beforehand including operating trials viability studies and further discussions with interested partners including Warwickshire County Council".

"The vehicles we are looking to purchase, Optare Solo EVs, look identical to those currently operating the Stratford Park & Ride except that they are battery powered which means that they consume much less CO2 and do not emit any polluting gases. The exciting thing is that, as the technology is expensive, we now have the means to follow up a successful trial with purchases. He went onto say This is a challenging project for us but we do take environmental issues very seriously and as a company are totally committed to a greener future".

It is understood that, once these vehicles come into operation Johnsons will be one of the first bus operators to run electric vehicles on acommercial service in the UK.