- 117 new British-made zero emission buses to be rolled out in
Yorkshire, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampshire, supporting hundreds
of skilled jobs
- Government invests £25 million to drive forward plans to
decarbonise public transport, cleaning up air in towns and cities
- Latest funding brings total investment to almost £300 million
for nearly 1,400 new green buses, helping to reach Net Zero
People in Yorkshire, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampshire will enjoy
greener, cleaner journeys as an extra 117 buses are rolled out
thanks to £25.3 million from government.
The latest investment announced today (Thursday 2 March) will
support British manufacturing around the country. The new buses
will be manufactured in Northern Ireland by Wrightbus and
operated by FirstBus, supporting hundreds of new high-skilled
jobs to help level up and grow the economy.
The £25.3 million will pave the way for the Government’s
ambitious rollout of zero emission buses (ZEBs) and brings
total government funding to almost £300 million for up to 1,395
zero emission buses in England. With this new additional funding,
it takes the vision of a net zero transport network one step
closer to reality.
The funding is an additional investment from the Zero Emission Buses
Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme, which was launched in 2021 to
allow local transport authorities to bid for funding for zero
emission buses and supporting infrastructure. Thanks to the new
investment the councils are now able to purchase more zero
emission buses, including:
- Norfolk County Council will receive an extra £11.5m to
deliver 55 additional ZEBs;
- Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council will
receive an extra £6.2m to deliver 28 additional ZEBs.
- West Yorkshire Combined Authority will receive an extra £5.7m
to deliver 25 additional ZEBs;
- City of York Council will receive an extra £1.9m to deliver 9
additional ZEBs.
Roads Minister
said:
“Buses are the most popular form of public transport, and these
new British-built zero emission buses will support hundreds of
high-quality manufacturing jobs in Northern Ireland, grow our
economy and help clean up the air in towns and cities across the
country.
“We’re providing an additional £25.3 million to roll out 117 new
buses to provide residents in Yorkshire, Norfolk, and Portsmouth
with better, cleaner and quieter journeys, as we step up a
gear to reach net zero faster and level up transport across
the country.”
Zero-emission buses are also often cheaper to run, improving the
economics for bus operators. All these additional buses funded
through the ZEBRA scheme are battery electric.
Janette Bell, Managing Director at First Bus
said:
“We are delighted to be accelerating investment in the
electrification of our bus fleet and infrastructure, supported by
co-funding from the Department for Transport.
"As leaders in sustainable mobility, we are fully aligned with
the Government’s ambitions for a net-zero carbon transport
system. We are rapidly transforming our business with zero
emission bus fleets and will continue to work closely with
central and local government across the UK to deliver our
decarbonisation plans.”
The move is part of the government’s wider £3 billion National Bus Strategy
to significantly improve bus services, with new priority lanes,
lower and simpler fares, more integrated ticketing and higher
frequencies.
