
Major UK airport scraps buses from car parks with £14m futuristic alternative
One of the busiest UK airports is ditching gas-guzzling buses as part of a huge £14 million investment. Last year, London Gatwick Airport - which is owned and managed by VINCI Airports and Global Infrastructure Partners - handled a whopping 43.2 million passengers.
Many of these travellers will have used the hub's Park & Ride, which allows customers to park their vehicle at a designated car park outside of the airport and then take a shuttle bus to the terminal. It's often much cheaper to use this option than using the roll-up parking, which can total up to a whopping £75 per day.
But passengers using Park & Ride will soon be whizzed over to the airport in a futuristic tram powered solely by electricity. Gatwick has confirmed it has signed a contract with Irizar e-mobility to bring 14 new electric tram-style buses - all of which are 18 metres long - to transfer passengers from the long-stay car parks to the terminals.
The move is expected to save 17.7 tCO2e in carbon emissions per year, and is part of the airport's sustainability efforts to decarbonise the aviation industry.
The Irizar ie trams, which are known for their futuristic and minimalistic design, will all be equipped with luggage racks inside for 'greater comfort and functionality'. The vehicles use the latest generation Irizar batteries and are charged using an ultra-fast pantograph system, which can do a full charge in less than six minutes.
"In addition, with the goal of improving safety, the new buses will be equipped with digital vision cameras, which significantly improves the front, side and rear visibility," Irizar said in a statement. "In this way, Irizar e-mobility is expanding their electromobility solutions in the United Kingdom, where more than 50 Irizar electric buses are already operating in several cities."
The Mirror was told the electric buses won't be deployed until around Christmas time this year. Steve Kelso, Head of Engineering at London Gatwick added: "We're excited to have 14 new electric tram busses coming to London Gatwick. We are playing our part to decarbonise the aviation sector and as we grow, we must do it sustainably.
"The electric buses are part of our transition to a fully electric vehicle fleet and just one example of our Decade of Change sustainability strategy in action."
Last week (July 9), Gatwick celebrated another landmark after its first-ever electric flight landed at the hub, as part of the VINCI Airports Network Elektro Tour. The 50-flight leg tour, an early-stage proof of concept, coincides with the delivery of 47 new electric vehicles at London Gatwick, including airside operations and engineering cars.
This is part of the airport's mission to upgrade its 300-strong vehicle fleet to fully electric by 2023 to support its broader £250m decarbonisation programme to achieve net zero for its own emissions in the next five years. Mark Johnston, chief operating officer at London Gatwick said: "We're pleased to welcome the VINCI Airport's Elektro Tour team to the airport, this might just be the smallest aircraft to ever land at London Gatwick!
"We're proud to be playing our part in supporting wider efforts to decarbonise the aviation sector. Our vision is to be the airport for everyone, whatever your journey, and as we grow, we must do it sustainably. Our transition to an electric vehicle fleet is just one example of our Decade of Change sustainability strategy in action."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Newcastle-under-Lyme street closed due to unsafe building
A busy town centre road in Staffordshire has been closed because of an unsafe closure was put in place on Bridge Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, on Wednesday after the borough council's building control service raised concerns about the privately-owned Sweeney, the authority's cabinet member for town centres, said businesses and the nearby Castle Car Park would remain open while safety inspections were carried out."If you are driving to the shops or car park, please follow the diversion notices in place," he added. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.


BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
'Side Quest' sightseeing cycle routes for exploring London
Themed cycling routes to help people discover parts of London they are less familiar with have been launched by Santander Cycles and Transport for London (TfL).The Side Quests route generator provides people with randomly selected routes around the capital, each of a different difficulty level and a theme, such as food spots or film commissioned by Santander and TfL found 55% of respondents wanted to explore more of London. "This scheme helps Londoners and visitors discover hidden parts of the city, stay active and enjoy the summer weather," said Will Norman, walking and cycling commissioner. To mark the launch, Santander Cycles is offering floating water bikes for one day only on Wednesday. The water bikes, which can seat two people, will be available to use for free in 20 minute slots on the canals in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, from 12:00 BST to 17:00. David Eddington, head of cycle hire at TfL, said he was "excited to see more Londoners and visitors explore the capital in an affordable way".


Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Taxpayers told they may be free from HMRC fees and could be due a refund
A total of 46,266 penalties were withdrawn in the tax year to April 2024 after being issued to people who either owed no tax or missed deadlines due to reasons beyond their control Tens of thousands of taxpayers may have been wrongly fined by HMRC, and many Brits could be in line for refunds after a record number of penalties were cancelled last year. A significant 46,266 fines were withdrawn over the course of just 12 months, having been issued to individuals who either didn't owe any tax or missed deadlines due to circumstances beyond their control. These figures, published in HMRC's most recent statements, show a 29 per cent surge in annulled penalties compared to the previous year. Now, experts are calling on people to contest fines they reckon are unjust. Taxpayers can be served an automatic £100 fine for failing to meet the self-assessment deadline, while businesses can be penalised for tardy VAT returns. However, a wave of successful appeals has been seen following challenges made through HMRC's online system, which underwent an overhaul in early 2023 to simplify the appeal process, reports the Express. Yet Andrew Park, a tax partner at accountancy firm Price Bailey, warns that the issue is much more pervasive, with numerous fines being set off by banking delays, administrative errors within HMRC, and chronic customer service shortcomings. "Late filing penalties are disproportionately levied on people on low incomes, many of whom have no tax to pay," he disclosed to the Telegraph. It has also come to light that over the past five years, 600,000 penalties have been meted out to individuals earning below the £12,570 personal allowance, indicating they had zero tax liability to begin with. After obtaining this data through a Freedom of Information request, the thinktank Tax Policy Associates has called for the abolition of such penalties. HMRC's helpline has also been criticised. In the first half of 2024-25, the tax authority left 35% of calls unanswered, falling short of its 85% target. Despite drafting in more call handlers to improve the situation, scores of taxpayers are still struggling to get assistance prior to the filing deadline. HMRC issued a staggering nine million penalties on taxpayers last year, a jump from just over eight million the previous year. Park says millions could be paying penalties needlessly: "When two-thirds of appealed penalties are overturned, yet only a small fraction of the nine million issued are challenged, it suggests a significant number of taxpayers may be paying penalties they could successfully contest." A revised points-based penalty system introduced under the Making Tax Digital initiative is set to give self-employed individuals using digital system relief from the automatic £100 fine. Instead, self-employed taxpayers will accrue penalty points with a maximum £200 cap per return. Those not covered by Making Tax Digital – including numerous low-income earners – remain subject to the more unforgiving legacy system. An HMRC spokesperson defended their position: "Our penalty reforms enable customers to appeal easily and quickly online against both penalties and penalty points. Our new points-based system means only those who persistently miss deadlines will incur a financial penalty." Taxpayers who reckon they've been unjustly fined have a 30-day window from the date on the penalty notice to lodge an appeal. Those who no longer need to file a return must inform HMRC prior to January 31 to dodge a fine. What to do if you've been fined Check if you actually owed tax – if not, your fine may be challengeable. Appeal online via your HMRC account within 30 days. If you're self-employed and not in Making Tax Digital, be aware you're still under the old regime. Contact HMRC if you believe you were wrongly issued a return request.