This white paper draws on the first DEV Talks live conversation, in which Devon Chamber Director Paul Philpott sat down with Peter Knight, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West, to talk about electric buses and the future of transport in Devon.
The conversation started with new vehicles and quickly moved to a bigger question for the county. How does Devon stay connected, productive and accessible when communities are spread out, costs are rising and businesses are planning through uncertainty?
Transport is a large part of the answer. A bus route gives people access to jobs, education, healthcare, shops and leisure. For employers, it widens the pool of available talent and gets staff to work reliably. For our towns and cities, it drives footfall and brings customers to local businesses. In rural Devon, where alternatives are often limited, its role matters even more.
Stagecoach South West’s investment in electric buses is a strong case study in resilience. It brings together long-term capital investment, public funding, new technology, careful operational planning and close work with local transport authorities. It also shows that environmental progress and economic resilience are increasingly the same conversation.
Resilience begins with connection
Devon presents a distinct transport challenge. Step outside the main urban centres and the county turns rural very quickly. People can travel significant distances to reach work, school, college or essential services. The strength of those connections shapes who can take up a job, where a business can recruit and whether someone without a car can play a full part in the local economy.
Peter Knight described public transport as a “great enabler”. It is a useful way for businesses to see it. Transport is not separate from the economy – it is part of the system that keeps it working.
Some Stagecoach routes are built specifically around travel to education and employment. Their value reaches well beyond the passenger, to the employer that needs staff, the college working to widen participation and the town centre that relies on regular visitors.
This matters whenever businesses raise recruitment challenges. The available labour market is defined in part by the journeys people can make, at the times they need to make them. A vacancy is only open to an applicant who can reach the workplace for the start of a shift and get home afterwards. Transport belongs firmly in the conversation on skills, inclusive growth and workforce planning.
Investment already under way
At the time of the DEV Talks recording, Stagecoach South West was introducing 110 new fully electric buses across its network. The Torbay depot, serving Torquay, Paignton, Brixham and the surrounding area, had already been fully electrified. A further 25 electric vehicles were being deployed in Exeter, with 20 planned for the Barnstaple operation. Peter also pointed to outline approval for a further 90 vehicles in Exeter.
For passengers, the difference is immediate. The new buses are quieter and smoother, with more comfortable seating. They feature next-stop audio and visual announcements, USB-A and USB-C charging, improved accessibility and high-definition CCTV.
These details shape whether public transport feels like a practical, appealing choice. Reliability comes first, followed closely by safety, value and comfort. A modern fleet supports every one of those expectations while cutting local emissions.
The scale of the programme also signals real confidence in the region. Investment on this level requires depot infrastructure, vehicle planning, engineering capability, power supply and staff training. It commits resources to Devon for the long term and creates a platform for the wider network to build on.
Building resilience into daily operations
The electric fleet is also changing the work that happens behind the scenes. Every vehicle generates data on its charge state, battery condition and maintenance needs. Control teams monitor the fleet through live dashboards, while telematics can alert engineers to a developing issue and identify the parts needed before a bus returns to the depot.
That information drives better decisions. Engineers can prepare work earlier, control teams can manage available charge and schedulers can match vehicles to routes more effectively. Passengers feel the benefit of these unseen systems through vehicle availability and dependable services.
Electric vehicles have fewer moving parts than their diesel equivalents. Stagecoach South West’s early experience in Torbay and Exeter has shown strong reliability and vehicle uptime, with technology helping teams spot problems sooner and respond with better information.
There is a clear lesson here for businesses across Devon. Resilience often comes from making everyday operations more visible. Good data shows where capacity is tightening, where maintenance is due and where a small intervention can prevent disruption. Technology delivers most when it helps skilled people act sooner and work smarter.
Managing costs through uncertainty
The bus industry has faced significant inflation in recent years. Fuel, energy, vehicles, parts and labour all feed into the cost of keeping a network on the road. In rural areas, lower passenger numbers can make individual routes especially hard to sustain.
Stagecoach South West benefits from being part of a larger UK group. During recent instability in the Middle East and pressure on fuel markets, the group had access to hedged fuel at fixed prices and in agreed quantities. Similar planning is now under way for electricity through the energy futures market.
This reduces exposure to sudden price swings and helps limit the increases passed on to passengers. For a service relied on by many people on lower incomes, keeping the cost base under control carries a wider social responsibility.
The principle applies to businesses of every size across Devon. Resilience starts with knowing which costs and supplies are most exposed to external shocks. Larger organisations may use formal hedging. Smaller businesses may lean on fixed-price contracts, a broader supplier base, sensible stock levels or more efficient equipment. Whatever the scale, the aim is the same – identify the main vulnerabilities early and take proportionate action before pressure becomes a crisis.
The difficult economics of rural transport
Calls for more routes are understandable, particularly from communities with few options. But demand varies widely, and some services need a level of subsidy per passenger that neither an operator nor a local authority can sustain indefinitely.
Peter was candid about this tension. Running a conventional bus everywhere regardless of use is not the answer. What is needed is a clear view of demand, the cost of provision and the gaps that leave people isolated. In some places, the better solution may be to link a main route with another way of completing the first or last mile.
This is where partnership becomes essential. Operators bring detailed knowledge of passenger behaviour, scheduling and costs. Local transport authorities set priorities and direct public funding. Businesses understand local employment patterns and the practical travel needs of their people. Communities can highlight gaps that network-wide data may miss.
Bringing that knowledge together allows Devon to make better-informed choices. It also helps tell the difference between a route with genuinely low demand and one held back by its timetable, its stopping points or a simple lack of awareness.
Environmental progress with practical benefits
Cutting transport emissions will be central to the UK’s path to net zero, which makes the full electrification of Stagecoach’s Torbay depot a significant milestone for the region. Peter noted that, at the time of recording, only a small number of depots outside London and Manchester had reached the same position.
The environmental case goes hand in hand with practical gains. Quieter vehicles improve the experience for passengers and for communities along busy routes. Cleaner vehicles support local air quality. Strong reliability and detailed battery monitoring help the operator get the most from its fleet.
Bus travel also brings efficiency at network level. Even a diesel bus can replace a considerable number of individual car journeys. Electrification strengthens that equation further – provided services are frequent, dependable and aligned with the journeys people actually need to make.
For Devon businesses working towards their own environmental goals, staff and customer travel can be a significant part of the picture. Employers can check whether public transport information features in recruitment packs, visitor directions and workplace travel plans, and whether shift patterns line up with real timetables. Small changes to information or scheduling can open up public transport to more people, without the need for a large corporate programme.
Partnership as a long-term operating model
The rollout of electric buses has brought together investment from Stagecoach Group, support from the Department for Transport and close work with local transport authorities. That combination reflects the scale of the task. Vehicles, charging infrastructure, energy supply and the network itself all need to develop together.
Closer partnership is also likely to shape the next phase of public transport in Devon. National policy may shift, and different models of local control are being discussed elsewhere in the country. Whatever structure emerges, local knowledge and a clear focus on dependable services will remain essential.
For Chamber members, getting involved can be straightforward. Businesses can share evidence on recruitment areas, shift times, visitor numbers and planned development. They can raise recurring transport barriers through the Chamber and take part in local consultations. Together, this gives operators and authorities a more accurate picture of economic demand.
A network that supports resilience has to reflect real life. People travel at different times, employment sites are not always in town centres and Devon’s geography creates constraints that cannot simply be designed away. Honest evidence helps public and private partners decide where investment will make the greatest difference.
A reliable route forward
The standout message from the DEV Talks conversation was how quickly the future has arrived. Five years ago, a fully electric bus depot in Torbay might have seemed a distant prospect. Today it is operating, with more electric vehicles entering service across Exeter and North Devon.
Peter returned time and again to a simple measure of success. People expect the bus to turn up, offer reasonable value and get them where they need to go safely. That discipline sits at the heart of resilience. Ambitious investment earns public confidence through dependable delivery.
For Devon, a resilient transport network will depend on continued investment, realistic decisions about rural provision and sustained partnership between operators, government, businesses and communities. Electric buses are already improving the fleet, reducing emissions and giving operational teams better tools. Their wider contribution will be measured in the journeys they make possible and the people, workplaces and services they keep connected.
That connection is part of Devon’s economic infrastructure. Treating it that way will help the county plan for growth while staying accessible, competitive and ready for change.
Source note
This white paper is based on the DEV Talks live conversation between Paul Philpott, Devon Chamber Director, and Peter Knight, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West at Fresh Air Studios. Fleet numbers, policy references and operational details reflect the position described at the time of recording.
