PUBLIC transport users in South Cumbria had the opportunity this week to travel on a £200,000 super-bus which uses futuristic technology to protect the environment, reports Paul Duncan.

The battery-powered hybrid electric bus spent a day on the 505 route in between Windermere and Coniston as part of a county-wide trial of the new technology by bus operator Stagecoach.

The ultra-quiet environmentally friendly bus was designed in New Zealand, and Stagecoach hopes to persuade local authorities to use them on routes across the UK.

Managing director of Stagecoach North West Nigel Barrett explained how the bus works: "The bus has no engine and runs off 80 batteries which can be fully charged from the mains overnight. While the vehicle is in use the batteries are recharged as the driver accelerates, and also as the brakes are applied."

There is also a diesel turbine on the bus, but this is only used as a back-up to charge the batteries when they reach such a level that they cannot be recharged by merely by driving the vehicle.

The bus has been in use on the streets of Carlisle since August 9, and Newcastle City Council plans to operate a fleet of nine of the buses in and around the city centre next spring.

The main drawback is the £200,000 price tag, which is twice the cost of a conventional bus, but Mr Barrett believes that its environmental benefits far outweigh its cost.

"It would be the ideal sort of bus to use in the Lakes due to its low noise and emission pollution," he said.