Green buses to be rolled out around the country
Released On 2nd Mar 2023
The government has announced £25 million of funding to provide 117 zero-emission buses (ZEBs) across the country.
The buses will hit the roads in Yorkshire, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampshire.
The new buses will be manufactured in Northern Ireland by Wrightbus and operated by FirstBus, supporting hundreds of new high-skilled jobs to encourage growth and help level up the economy.
The funding comes from the Zero Emission Buses Regional Areas scheme (ZEBRA), which was launched in 2021 to allow local transport authorities to bid for funding for zero emission buses and supporting infrastructure.
Norfolk County Council will receive an extra £11.5 million for 55 additional ZEBs and Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council will receive an extra £6.2 million to deliver 28 additional ZEBs.
Meanwhile, West Yorkshire Combined Authority will receive an extra £5.7 million to deliver 25 additional ZEBs and City of York Council will receive an extra £1.9 million to deliver 9 additional ZEBs.
Roads Minister Richard Holden 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."
