Dennis in £9m green bus deal

BUS maker Alexander Dennis has won a contract from Stagecoach to build 47 hybrid electric vehicles at its factory in Falkirk.

The double-deckers have been ordered as part of a 9 million investment by the Perth-based transport giant, with a further 4m coming from the UK government's green bus fund.

The Enviro400H buses pump 30 per cent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than standard double-deckers and have been developed using technology from BAE Systems.

The buses will go into service in Newcastle and Sheffield before March 2011.

Earlier this year, Stagecoach put 56 "greener" vehicles into service in Oxford and Manchester at a cost of 16m.