Orbital (bus service)
| Orbital (40) | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Greenlines branded Yutong E10 | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | Centrebus |
| Vehicle | Yutong E10 |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 4 (5 at peak) |
Orbital is a circular bus route in Leicester, UK. It is operated by Centrebus.
History
[edit]Centrebus have operated the 40 service since around 2003 but the history can be traced back to the early 1980s.
As part of the Leicester bus partnership, Centrebus and Leicester City Council successfully applied for ZEBRA funding for electric vehicles to operate on service 40, these were launched on 24 October 2022.[1]
Route
[edit]The route is 30 miles (48 kilometres) long and forms a circle around Leicester.[2]
Orbital currently operates to an hourly frequency Monday to Saturday which operates in clockwise and anticlockwise directions largely following the A563 Outer Ring Road serving: Leicester General Hospital, Oadby, Wigston Magna, Eyres Monsell, Aylestone, Fosse Park, Thorpe Astley, Braunstone Frith, Glenfield, Glenfield Hospital, Beaumont Shopping Centre, Mowmacre Hill, Gipsy Lane, Hamilton, Netherhall Road, Thurnby Lodge and Goodwood Road
Future
[edit]As part of the Leicester Buses partnership, Leicester City Council are seeking funding to increase the frequency to every 30 minutes alongside the introduction of (less frequent) evening and Sunday services with four additional electric buses.[3]
Vehicles
[edit]Orbital is currently operated by four Yutong E10 buses in a distinctive bright green livery with Orbital branding alongside two further examples with Greenlines branding which act as spare vehicles for use on Hop! or the Hospital Hopper services.[4][5]
Centrebus have operated the service since 2003 and previously used a number of Dennis Darts on the service. In 2007 Optare Esteem buses were launched onto the route and these were replaced by Optare Solo SRs in 2016.
References
[edit]- ^ Moorhouse, Sam (2022-10-17). "New £2.1m Orbital electric bus service for Leicester to start". LeicestershireLive. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
- ^ "Longest electric circular bus route launches in Leicester". BBC News. 2022-10-17. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
- ^ "Orbital". Leicester Buses. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
- ^ "UK's longest electric circular bus route launching". Bus & Coach Buyer. 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
- ^ "Leicester and Centrebus win ZEBRA first delivery race". routeone. 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2022-10-17.