£25 million announced for 117 zero emission buses

The government has announced £25.3 million for an extra 117 zero emission buses to be rolled out.

The latest investment will support British manufacturing around the country. 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 is an additional investment 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 to deliver 55 additional ZEBs; Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council will receive an extra £6.2 million to deliver 28 additional ZEBs; 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.

Zero-emission buses are also often cheaper to run, improving the economics for bus operators. All these additional buses funded through the ZEBRA scheme are battery electric.