Half a billion-pound investment in electric buses secured

Bus operator Go Ahead has announced a £500 million investment to decarbonise its fleet, including creating a new dedicated manufacturing line and partnership with bus manufacturer Wrightbus.

The investment is set to fund the manufacturing of up to 1,200 new zero emission buses over the next three years and will enable greener buses to be deployed across the country including in Plymouth, Gloucestershire, East Yorkshire, London and the Isle of Wight.

On top of directly supporting 500 manufacturing jobs, the £500 million investment for Wrightbus will also support an additional 2,000 jobs across the wider UK supply chain by 2026, helping to get us back on track for growth.

For every vehicle manufactured, the government said that 10 trees will be planted by Go-Ahead and Wrightbus in the towns and cities where the buses are deployed.

Go-Ahead Bus CEO, Matt Carney said: "This multi-million pound investment and partnership with Wrightbus will accelerate the transition to zero-emission fleet across the UK.

"We are proud to be working in partnership with the UK government and local authorities to deliver transformational environmental change for communities, while supporting UK jobs and the growth of the country’s supply chain."

Wrightbus CEO, Jean-Marc Gales said: The deal with Go-Ahead is hugely significant and represents a huge boost to the UK’s economy. It will support homegrown manufacturing, jobs and skills for the next three years and beyond. We’ve always been proud to support the UK’s supply chain and our Go-Ahead partnership will ensure even more money can be spent securing good green jobs.

"We must also not forget that this deal represents a massive step forward in our ambition to help decarbonise the transport sector with our world-leading products. It was heartening today to hear the government reaffirm its commitment to a green transport sector."