COULD the distinctive chippy smell of the Big Lemon bus fleet soon be a thing of the past?

The environmentally-friendly Brighton bus fleet is bidding for funding to build a solar powered electrical charging point at its depot for its three electric buses.

Co-founder Tom Druitt said the company’s bus fleet could completely switch to electric from recycled cooking oil over the next 18 months.

The solar powered buses would be the first project of its kind in the country if the company can get enough votes to help them gain £12,500 from the Marks and Spencer Energy Community Fund.

The Big Lemon Bus Company has joined forces with the Brighton Energy Co-op to power up their zero-emission solar buses from 120 solar panels installed on the roof of its Whitehawk bus depot.

The company, which runs five routes in Brighton and Hove, hopes the solar buses will reduce noxious emissions in some of Brighton and Hove's most polluted areas and will power the whole of their 52 route between Woodingdean and Brighton city centre.

The project, which could be in place by the end of the year, will generate clean energy during the day which will be stored in a battery ready to charge up the solar buses overnight ready for the next day and up to 140 miles of travel.

Mr Druitt said that the company would still retain its fleet of seven cooking oil coaches as the technology did not exist yet for an electric coach capable of taking passengers reliably on longer distance journeys around the UK.

He said: “We will continue to run the coaches with cooking oil for the foreseeable future but within 18 months the whole of the bus fleet could be electric.

“Sadly we can’t really rely on government funding to replace our fleet but we can use the same things as bonds and shares again.

“Because the operating costs for the electric buses are much lower, we can pay back the community for their support out of those savings.”

The firm has already enjoyed fundraising success this year by attracting £100,000 investment in bonds to buy three electric buses.

The three buses are converted from “mid-life buses” as a cheaper alternative to buying new models with the first set to be delivered in October and all three by the end of the year.

The firm has four cooking oil buses running in the city which emit 836kg of carbon monoxide, 314kg of hydrocarbons, 1419kg of nitrogen oxides and 81kg of particulates that would be reduced to virtually zero with the new electric buses.

The company's switch from cooking oil is also being motivated by the fact that more modern buses can not be converted to run on cooking oil.

Big Lemon is hopeful of expanding its routes in the city when its contract comes up for renewal next autumn.

To vote visit mandsenergyfund.com/projects/the-big-lemon-solar-bus-project.