Falkirk-based bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis has signed a £100 million deal to supply National Express with 600 state-of-the-art buses for use in Scotland.
The contract will support up to 2,000 jobs, including 900 at Alexander Dennis’ Falkirk site.
The buses a mixture of double-deck and smaller midi business will be introduced on to the streets of Dundee later this year and will also be used across Scotland, the West Midlands and Coventry.
Every vehicle ordered will secure a worker’s job for a year and will be equipped with environmentally friendly low-emission engines as well as state-of the-art high-definition CCTV.
Scotland’s Education and Lifelong Learning Secretary Mike Russell announced the deal on a visit to Alexander Dennis in Falkirk yesterday.
He said: “ADL is a Scottish company that is leading the world with technology and quite literally offering career opportunities on a global basis.
“Having already experienced success and rapid growth in recent years, this new contract with National Express provides a genuine shot in the arm for bus building in Scotland.
“As well as underpinning production programmes and jobs over the next five years, the contract also provides a platform for skills training and the development of young apprentices into the world of manufacturing and engineering.”
Phil Smith, managing director of National Express Dundee, said: “This deal will ensure the £100m invested on improvements to our services over the coming years will not just benefit our customers, who will have great new buses, but will also give the Scottish economy a big boost.
“The fact that it will also support 900 Scottish jobs will provide a real boost for the Scottish employment market.
“The new buses will offer customers a state-of-the-art, comfortable and environmentally friendly journey.
“We cannot wait to introduce some of these vehicles to the roads of Dundee later in the year.”
Colin Robertson, chief executive of Alexander Dennis Ltd, added: “We are absolutely delighted to take our business relationship with National Express to a new level.
“Long-term contracts of this nature underpin manufacturing programmes and contribute to job security.
“They make so much sense, giving all parties a clear profile of expectations and financials.
“My instinct is that we will see more ‘partnerships’ like this in the years ahead.”
Meanwhile, Stagecoach has threatened to take the Welsh Government to court over planned cuts to the country’s concessionary travel scheme.
The Perth-based operator said the proposed changes were “brutal, flawed and unlawful” and would lead to a £24 million cut in the reimbursement rate for bus operators.
The firm said legal advice it had received suggested key failings in the process the Welsh Government adopted while reviewing the tariff and said it could be open to compensation payouts for violations of EU law.
The Welsh Government last month confirmed three-year funding of £189m for its free bus travel scheme across Wales, an 11% cut on the previous £213.3m package.
The scheme which provides free travel to more than 720,000 concessionary pass holders is designed to reimburse operators for the full costs of participating in the compulsory scheme.
But Stagecoach the biggest bus operator in the country said its legal experts were of the opinion the Government erred in law by capping the scheme to fit within an allocated budget rather than following the statutory “no better, no worse off” principle.
The company gave the Welsh Government a deadline of April 1 to rethink its decision or face legal repercussions.