Nottingham City Transport’s upgraded Turquoise Line 78, 79 buses will be officially launched by Cllr Graham Chapman on Wednesday 22nd September 2010, to mark the full introduction of new, accessible buses on to the routes.
New Turquoise Bus
The new buses offer significant improvements to customers and continue Nottingham City Transport’s investment in the local bus network.
- Customers travelling on the upgraded buses benefit from:
- Extra seats to carry more passengers – 90 on every bus
- The introduction of a wheelchair bay – upgrading the route to full wheelchair accessibility standards
- A bigger and better designed buggy bay – giving a little more room for younger passengers
- More leg room and individual seats offering greater comfort
- Improved internal passenger information about the routes
- Extra handrails and bells on both decks
As well as internal improvements for customers, the vehicles have Euro 3 compliant engines, a higher specification than the buses they replaced, which benefit the environment.
To support the bus upgrade, NCT enhanced the frequency of services 78, 79 earlier this month with buses now every 15 minutes on Monday to Saturday daytimes instead of every 20 minutes. The combined service from Nuthall Road into the City is now every 7/8 minutes on both services.
Local Councillor, Graham Chapman was delighted with the news, stating
“It is wonderful to see our bus company, given the current financial constraints, continue to invest in our bus services. These improvements will be of great benefit to my constituents and will ensure NCT remains one of the best bus operators in the country.”
Nearly 90% of all Nottingham City Transport buses now meet stringent accessibility standards, offering one of the most accessible bus networks in the UK. NCT expects to be 100% accessible by 2012, some 5 years ahead of the legal deadline.
Anthony Carver-Smith, NCT Marketing Manager commented, “With the full roll out of our new buses on the 78, 79 and the increased daytime frequency, we’re confident we’ll attract even more people on to these services, which have been growing in popularity for a long time”. Full timetable information about the services is available at www.nctx.co.uk/turquoise