Johnston, Glasgow
Overview
MCGILL’S Buses, the UK’s largest independent bus operator,
has now invested a total of £55million in its electric fleet since the end of 2021, placing it in the top three companies in the UK for fleet decarbonisation. McGill’s now has a total of 109 EV buses – almost 20% of the company’s fleet – with further purchases to follow.
Key Project Objectives:
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Infrastructure Upgrade: Enhance Johnston Depot's facilities to integrate and support nine electric bus charging units to support its electric vehicle fleet
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Efficiency and Sustainability: Reduce environmental impact by transitioning to an electric vehicle fleet, promoting sustainability and operational efficiency.
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Operational Readiness: Ensure that the charging infrastructure is fully operational, reliable, and aligns with McGill's bus schedules and operational requirements.
Project Phases:
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Planning and Design: Collaborative sessions between McGill's Bus Depot and Ark to outline infrastructure requirements, charging unit specifications, and project milestones.
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Procurement: Sourcing and acquisition of necessary materials and components, with a focus on quality and compatibility with McGill's electric bus fleet.
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Installation: Deployment of charging units at Johnston Depot, ensuring compliance with safety standards and minimising disruption to regular depot activities.
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Testing and Integration: Rigorous testing to verify the functionality of each charging unit and integration into McGill's operational systems.
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Training: Conducting training sessions for depot staff to ensure seamless operation and maintenance of the new electric charging infrastructure.
Catford, London - Stage Coach UK
Project Scope
The scope of the project was extensive, involving both civil engineering and electric aspects. This included civil works for infrastructure enhancement and electrical installations to ensure seamless integration of EVs into Catford Bus Depot.
Key Objectives
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Civil Engineering - Infrastructure Enhancement: The civil engineering aspect focused on upgrading the physical layout of Catford Bus Depot. This included:
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Site Assessment: Rigorous assessment of the existing depot layout to determine optimal locations for charging stations, considering factors like space utilization and accessibility.
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Foundation and Construction: Implementation of robust foundations to support the charging infrastructure. Construction activities were strategically planned to minimize disruptions to daily depot operations.
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Utility Connections: Integration of utility connections to ensure a reliable power supply for the charging units, involving collaboration with local utility providers.
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Electrical Aspect - Charging Infrastructure Implementation: The electrical aspect centered around deploying cutting-edge charging infrastructure to support Stagecoach UK's electric bus fleet:
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Charging Station Design: Detailed design of the charging stations, considering the power requirements of electric buses, and ensuring scalability for future fleet expansions.
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Procurement of Charging Equipment: Sourcing and procurement of high-quality charging equipment, including charging units, cables, and associated components, adhering to industry standards.
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Installation and Commissioning: Installation of the charging infrastructure, electrical connections to network, DNO, communication systems, and safety measures.
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DUNDEE BUS DEPOT
Overview
Xplore Dundee is a bus operator based in Dundee, Scotland. It has a fleet of approximately 99 buses with operating services mainly around Dundee city. Their vision is to promote a greener operation and provide the city with an electric bus service. This would require detailed design and construction of electric vehicle infrastructure and off course new buses at the Dundee depot.
Challenges
The project had a few challenges that needed to be addressed.
The main challenge faced was the limited availability of power at this location. This meant that the installation team had to work with the Scottish power to upgrade the infrastructure and increase the availability of power.
Another challenge was the need to balance the demand for constructing the charging stations with the available parking spaces. The daily construction operations and traffic management of nearly 100 buses required weekly and sometimes daily meetings to maintain the buses services to Dundee city.
Conclusion
The site team delivered the project ahead of schedule, and exceeded the clients expectations in terms of quality, cohesion and workmanship. The completed project is testament to the team and their ability to deliver a quality service which had a unique and challenging environment for them. We look forward to working on more of these projects with this client again
EAST KILBRIDE
The Scottish Ambulance Service is responsible for providing emergency medical services to the people of Scotland. The service operates a fleet of vehicles that are used to respond to emergencies and transport patients to hospitals. In recent years, the service has been exploring ways to reduce its carbon footprint and promote sustainable transportation. As part of the effort, ARK has installed electric vehicle charges at several of its locations across Scotland.
The process of installing and constructing electric vehicle charges for the SAS involved several steps, including site selection, design, and installation. ARK worked with the SAS to identify suitable locations for the electric vehicle charges. The team considered factors such as the availability of parking spaces, access to power, and the potential impact on the surrounding community.
Challenges Faced
The installation and construction of electric vehicle charges for the Scottish Ambulance Service were not without challenges.
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Site accessibility - Some sites were difficult to access due to the limited space for construction equipment and materials.
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Weather conditions - heavy rain & snow, delayed the construction process at some of the sites and made it more challenging for the installation team.
AUDI
ARK Completes Installation of New Electric Vehicle Chargers at 8 Sites
ARK, has completed the installation of new electric vehicle chargers at 8 sites across the UK. The project, which was completed on time and on budget, has been hailed as a major success and a significant step forward in the transition to electric vehicles.
The sites were carefully selected to maximize accessibility and convenience for the growing electric vehicle fleet. The chargers, which are compatible with a wide range of electric vehicles, were installed to meet the growing demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Throughout the project, ARK worked closely with each site owner to ensure that the charger installation work would not cause any disruptions to the daily activities of the dealership.
If you're interested in learning more about ARK's services and how we can help you meet your engineering needs, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Our team is always available to answer your questions and provide you with the support and guidance.
