Electric Airport Transfers in the French Alps
Cool Bus established itself in Bourg St. Maurice in 2002, not long after budget flights to the French Alps became a thing, and do it yourself ski trips with independent chalet companies started to overtake traditional package holidays. Over the course of the following 15 years our business grew from 1 owner/driver in a rusty old Mercedes 508, to 25 shiny new Volkswagen Caravelles driven by a team of 35 drivers, clocking up 1 million kms a year.
In 2016 we took a plunge into the newly emerging, electric car market, and purchased a Tesla Model X, the first in our area to do so. That winter we racked up 40,000 electric km, and in the process, won the 2017 Travel Innovation category at the Daily Telegraph World Snow Awards. The following winter we ran two Model X’s and clocked 80,000 electric kms. It 2019 we had three. Then the pandemic hit.
The previous 18 years of hard work meant we had the assets to keep us liquid through what turned out to be nearly two full years of close to zero activity, but we came out the other side considerably leaner. Like many, the pandemic gave us time to reflect and analyse where we’d come from and were headed to, what was working and what wasn’t. The result was, we found our sweet spot, enough vehicles and staff to allow us to cope with volume, but small enough to ensure the level of service we provide is the best it can be and that we can take our business where we think it needs to go.
For 2025/26 we have 10 vehicles on the road – 2 Tesla Model X, 6 Mercedes electric EQV minibuses and 2 VW Caravelles (read more on our fleet here). The electric share of this winter’s kilometres should exceed 80%, this means if you book with us you are more likely to travel in an electric vehicle than a diesel. If that makes you nervous, read our EVFAQ here to find out why it shouldn’t.
On the 1st April 2024 we hit the landmark of 1 million electric km saving 80,000 litres of diesel and over 200 tons of CO2. Our electric km for the 2024/25 season exceeded 275,000. Ultimately, the goal is to be fully carbon neutral, an objective we ratified by signing up to the Protect Our Winters UK pledge in 2019.
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Our Tenth Winter Of Electric Airport Transfers
It’s a sad day at Cool Bus HQ. The time has come to say goodbye to a long standing member of our team. A quick scan of our driver roster this winter shows that over half have worked more than ten seasons for us. All of our office staff can say the same but this is the first time we’ve had a vehicle make it into double figures. T1 is our oldest electric car. It still drives just as smoothly as the day we bought it. Still does 0-100kmph in under 4 seconds. The aluminium bodywork, which has been under 3M vinyl wrap since new, is in excellent condition. It has done 300,000 km but the original battery is still working fine with just 17% degradation. The electric motors continue to provide a smooth power transfer to all four wheels…
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