Shetland Islands Council has published findings from its first electric bus trial – which shows the vehicles are viable in Shetland.
The 27-seater Sigma bus was used on routes across mainland Shetland from February to June this year.
The £120,000 trial has been fully funded by UK Government agency Innovate UK and aimed to see how the technology works on the ground, considering our climate, roads and topography.
Local bus operators were also given the opportunity to try the bus first-hand and give feedback on its performance. While not in public use, it was driven on service routes, including stopping and starting at bus stops, as well as using simulated passenger loads.
Independent analysis of the data has been provided by consultants Exceliamus. While the report finds electric bus operation is feasible, several barriers remain. These include: the high up-front cost of the vehicles, constrained electricity grid access for charging, and a lack of space or capacity for charging vehicles in bus depots.
The bus was shown to have an average range of about 100 miles on a full charge. Performance and reliability of the vehicle was found to be comparable to a diesel vehicle.
A milder winter and spring meant the bus was not driven in Shetland’s coldest conditions; however colder weather, with use of heaters and wipers are predicted to decrease its performance.
The report recommends a further trial in colder weather with a larger vehicle, and considering a trial of a bus with a heat pump fitted to help energy efficiency in colder weather.
It says a full move to electric buses cannot be realistically achieved in the 2026-31 bus contract period. However, that time should be used to develop a business case for the change as well as to look at the charging network and further learning.
Moraig Lyall is Chair of the Council’s Environment and Transport Committee and ZetTrans. She says: “This project has given us some real evidence about how an electric bus performs in Shetland’s climate and terrain. It shows both the promise of new technology and the practical steps still needed to make it work at scale.
“ZetTrans will use the learning from this trial to inform a new Public and School Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which forms part of the forthcoming Regional Transport Strategy Delivery Plan (2026–28).
“The aim is to make progress toward cleaner transport in a way that’s affordable, reliable and right for Shetland’s communities.”