Skip to main content

UK Government funds cleaner, greener bus journeys

The UK Government has made US$39 million (£30 million) of funding available to bus operators and local authorities in England, enabling them to buy low emission buses and install chargepoints and other infrastructure. In total, the 13 successful bidders will be able to add 326 buses, including electric, hybrid, hydrogen and biomethane buses, to their fleets, and install more than US$9 million (£7 million) worth of infrastructure. Among the winners is Sheffield City Region, which has been awarded US$1.7 m
July 26, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The UK Government has made US$39 million (£30 million) of funding available to bus operators and local authorities in England, enabling them to buy low emission buses and install chargepoints and other infrastructure. In total, the 13 successful bidders will be able to add 326 buses, including electric, hybrid, hydrogen and biomethane buses, to their fleets, and install more than US$9 million (£7 million) worth of infrastructure.

Among the winners is Sheffield City Region, which has been awarded US$1.7 million (£1.3 million for) 44 buses fitted with hybrid technology.

Other successful bidders include West Midlands Travel, which has been awarded more than US$4 million (£3 million) to fund 10 hybrid and 19 fully electric buses, and install electric charging facilities. Birmingham City Council and 1466 Transport for London have jointly won US$3.6 million (£2.8 million) for 42 state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel cell buses, while Merseytravel has received US$6.4 million (£4.9million) for a total of 72 biomethane, hybrid or electric buses and associated infrastructure. Nottingham City Transport has been awarded US$5.7 million (£4.4 million) for 53 biomethane buses and infrastructure.

The low emission bus scheme builds on the Green Bus Fund, which saw US$116 million (£89 million) of government funding put more than 1,200 green buses on England’s roads – representing four per cent of buses in service. The government has also invested more than US$34 million (£26 million) since 2013 to retrofit more than 2,000 buses in pollution hotspots with low emission technology.

Related Content

  • April 24, 2017
    UK government publishes long-term plan to increase cycling and walking
    The UK government has published its US$1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) long-term plan to make cycling and walking the natural choice for shorter journeys. The government wants cycling and walking to become the norm by 2040 and will target funding at innovative ways to encourage people onto a bike or to use their own two feet for shorter journeys. Plans include specific objectives to double cycling, reduce cycling accidents and increase the proportion of five to 10 year-olds walking to school to 55 per cent by 20
  • November 20, 2020
    'Green plan' speeds UK petrol and diesel ban 
    UK government announces £1.3bn to aid rollout of EV charge points
  • December 18, 2018
    California to require all bus fleets to be zero-emission by 2040
    The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved a statewide regulation which will require public transit agencies to gradually transition to fully zero emission buses by 2040. The Clean Transit regulation is expected to help transit agencies reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19 million metric tonnes, nitrogen oxides by 7,000 tonnes and particulate matter by 40 tonnes from 2020 to 2050. CARB says the regulation will improve air quality, especially in low-income communities. It could also help
  • July 8, 2019
    London needs just one road user charge, says report
    London’s patchwork of road charging schemes should be replaced by a single, distance-based user charge, according to new research. Apart from anything else, it would be much fairer… The UK capital’s multiple road charging schemes require a radical overhaul, according to a new report by the Centre for London thinktank. The suggested solution is to replace existing levies on drivers with a single, distance-based user charge which would more fairly reflect how much, and at what time, people are using London