New funding to deliver zero emission bus pledge

Millions of people across the country will be able to make greener journeys as almost 1,000 green buses are rolled out with the backing of nearly £200 million in government funding.

The government has said that 12 areas, from Greater Manchester to Portsmouth, will receive grants from the Zero Emission Buses Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme, first launched last year, to deliver electric or hydrogen powered buses, as well as charging or fuelling infrastructure, to their region.

The latest allocation of £198.3 million of funding will provide 943 buses. It builds on almost: £71 million announced last year to support up to 335 new zero emission buses in five areas; a further £50 million funding for the UK’s first All Electric Bus City, Coventry, supporting up to 300 buses; and 100 buses funded by previous funding schemes.

The move is expected to remove over 57,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from the country’s air, as well as 22 tonnes of nitrogen oxides on average each year, as government continues to go further and faster to achieve net zero, clean up the transport network and build back greener.

The announcement means that the government remains on track to deliver its commitment to fund a total of 4,000 zero-emission buses across the country – which the Prime Minister promised in 2020 to ‘drive forward the UK’s progress on its net zero ambitions’.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “I will level up and clean up our transport network. That’s why I’ve announced hundreds of millions of pounds to roll out zero emission buses nationwide. Not only will this improve the experience of passengers, but it will help support our mission to fund 4,000 of these cleaner buses, reach net zero emissions by 2050 and build back greener. Today’s announcement is part of our National Bus Strategy, which will introduce lower fares, helping drive down the cost of public transport even further for passengers.”