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Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Question for Department for Transport

UIN 74604, tabled on 31 October 2022

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to prioritise the community benefit element of zero emission bus tenders.

Answered on

8 November 2022

We are providing over £525 million dedicated funding for zero emissions buses (ZEBs) this Parliament, though a number of funding schemes:

  • The Government awarded £50 million of funding to the West Midlands Combined Authority to support the Coventry All Electric Bus City. This funding will support the introduction of up to 300 electric buses.
  • £270 million funding was awarded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) which will support up to 1,278 zero emission buses. In London, government funding has supported the introduction of an estimated 600 ZEBs.
  • The Department will provide details on how the remaining £205 million of new funding will be used shortly. We will continue to explore how best to maximise the community benefits of future investment.

Funding from other funding schemes, such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS), can also be used by local areas to support the introduction of ZEBs. In addition, the rate at which the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) can be claimed for ZEBs was increased from 6p to 22p per km in April 2022. This supports operators to introduce ZEBs by reducing the overall cost of ownership.

Table 1 below presents the estimated number of zero emission buses that have been funded in England since February 2020. Where available, information has been provided on the status of the buses and the name of the bus manufacturer has been included. The numbers in Table 1 are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore subject to change.

Funding scheme

Funding awarded to

No. Buses

Status

Bus manufacturer

ZEBRA

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority

30

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Kent County Council

33

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Leicester City Council

96

6 buses on the road 68 buses ordered 22 buses funded

6 buses on the road supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong 68 buses ordered from Wrightbus Bus manufacturer for 22 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Milton Keynes City Council

56

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Warrington Borough Council

120

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

South Yorkshire Combined Authority

27

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Norfolk County Council

15

Ordered

Wrightbus

ZEBRA

North Yorkshire County Council

39

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council

34

Ordered

Wrightbus

ZEBRA

Blackpool Council

115

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Nottingham City Council

78

12 ordered. 66 funded.

12 buses supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong. Bus manufacturer for 66 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

170

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Hertfordshire County Council

27

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

West Midlands Combined Authority

124

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

City of York Council

44

Ordered

Wrightbus

ZEBRA

West Yorkshire Combined Authority

111

32 buses ordered 79 buses funded.

32 buses ordered from Wrightbus Bus manufacturer for 79 buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

ZEBRA

Oxfordshire County Council

159

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

All Electric Bus Town or City Scheme

West Midlands Combined Authority

Up to 300

130 buses ordered

130 buses ordered from Alexander Dennis Ltd

Transforming Cities Fund

Leicester City Council

18

18 buses on the road

Supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong

Transforming Cities Fund

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

20

Ordered

20 buses ordered from Alexander Dennis Ltd

Transforming Cities Fund

West Yorkshire Combined Authority

8

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement

Greater Manchester Combined Authority

50

Ordered

Alexander Dennis Ltd

Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme

Brighton & Hove Buses

20

Ordered

Wrightbus

Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme

First West Yorkshire

9

On the road

Supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong

Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme

Go North East

9

On the road

Supplied by Pelican & Coach UK and manufactured by Yutong

Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme

Nottinghamshire County Council

4

On the road

Alexander Dennis Ltd

Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme

Stagecoach Manchester

32

On the road

Alexander Dennis Ltd

Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme

The Big Lemon

3

On the road

Supplied by Harris Group and manufactured by Higer

Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme

West Yorkshire Combined Authority

5

On the road

Alexander Dennis Ltd

Local transport authority funding

Surrey County Council

34

Funded

Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.

Local transport authority funding

Hertfordshire County Council

1

On the road

Switch Mobility

Local transport authority funding

Transport for London

600

Total

2,391

Table 2 below presents information on the estimated number of zero emission buses that have been funded in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since February 2020. The numbers in Table 2 are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore subject to change.

Funding Scheme

Number of Buses

UK Government funding for Wales through the Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme

68

Welsh Government funding

16

Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme

272

Scottish Zero Emission Bus challenge fund

276

Northern Ireland Executive Funding FY 2020-21

100

Northern Ireland Executive Funding FY 2021-22

38

Northern Ireland Executive Funding FY 2022-23

100

Total

870