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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Study reveals benefits of electric Beijing taxi fleet
    August 6, 2013
    The impact of introducing plug-in electric vehicles to the streets of Beijing, one of the world’s most polluted cities, has been examined by researchers from the University of Michigan in the ACS journal Environmental Science and Technology. They use big data mining techniques to understand the impact of fleet electrification. As part of the study, the researchers highlight that while plug-in electric vehicles have developed rapidly in recent years there are still uncertainties with regard to market accepta
  • Report identifies opportunities for road freight carbon and cost reduction
    December 4, 2012
    Switching from diesel to gas, reducing rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag and introducing more hybrid and electric vehicles are identified as key opportunities for further cutting carbon and improving efficiency in the road freight sector, according to a new report commissioned by the Transport Knowledge Transfer Network (TKTN) and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP). The report, written by Ricardo-AEA for the project partners, focuses on the key technical opportunities, and identifies options
  • Port Authority of New York to go all-electric
    November 2, 2018
    A leading US public transportation agency has become the first in the country to embrace the Paris Climate Agreement, and will introduce an all-electric airport shuttle bus fleet. The voluntary Paris deal is aimed at curbing global temperature rise to under 2 degrees Celsius. As part of a commitment to achieving this, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says it will aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 35% by 2025 – and 80% by 2050. Its shuttle fleet will consist of 36 electric vehicl
  • O2 to offer 5G network for C/AV testing in UK
    April 18, 2019
    Mobile network O2 will provide its 5G network to support connected and autonomous vehicle (C/AV) tests at Millbrook proving ground in the UK county of Bedfordshire. O2 says the low latency and high capacity of 5G allow vehicles to transmit large amounts of data, including 4K video, to intelligent cloud-based transport systems, which are expected to improve road safety and help traffic authorities to monitor and manage traffic flow. From June, O2 will enable 5G connectivity to Millbrook facilities us