National Express West Midlands is turning Birmingham’s iconic 50 bus route Platinum.
The 50 is one of the busiest bus routes in Europe. Arriving every 4 minutes, it carries over five and a half million people a year on its journey south from Birmingham city centre to Druids Heath via Moseley, Kings Heath and the Maypole.
The 50 route is benefiting in 2019 from National Express West Midlands’ £22 million investment in 75 brand-new vehicles.
Nick Vane, the bus operator’s Commercial Director, said: “We already know that our customers love the top-spec Platinum double deckers – with extra leg room, free wi-fi and USB chargers. When we asked them what they thought, overall satisfaction across all the Platinum routes was 94%. And where we’ve upgraded bus routes to Platinum, we’ve attracted new customers.
“These beautiful buses are our pledge as part of the West Midlands Bus Alliance – to increase the amount of people taking the bus, to keep our customers happy and to keep the air clean across the West Midlands.
“As well as being good news for our passengers, these new Platinum buses are great news for the environment. The engines inside them are smart hybrids – some of the cleanest on the market. They emit extremely low levels of the pollutant nitrogen oxide, so they are better for people’s lungs.”
The Platinum buses are all built to order in Britain by Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL).
