£7.8m investment sees green future for Leeds' bus fleet

First Bus has placed an order for 32 Electric Vehicle (EV) buses with UK manufacturer Wrightbus, using funding secured by the Combined Authority from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) funding scheme. First Bus is now investing £7.2m in the new vehicles, with a further £4.8m from the DfT grant used to complete the electric fleet project.

A further £2.3m will be spent on charging infrastructure at the Bramley depot, which includes £1.7m ZEBRA funding.

West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin said: “We want to improve public transport by introducing greener buses to improve the environment. Green buses are a key part of our long-term vision for transport in West Yorkshire, so I’m delighted to see the first of these vehicles being ordered.

The predicted CO2 savings from the new buses are almost 2,000 tonnes a year. This will add to the current annual reduction of some 750 tonnes achieved by the zero-emission fleets First Bus is operating in Leeds city centre and the Stourton Park and Ride, which opened in September last year.

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee and Leader of Bradford Council said: “The investment in these new vehicles will kick-start the process to create a fully zero-emission fleet across West Yorkshire.”

Paul Matthews, managing director of First West Yorkshire, said: “This multi-million pound order is further evidence of our commitment to net-zero carbon transport and sets us on a clear path to expanding our electric bus fleet in Leeds and elsewhere in the region.

The new EV buses will be fully built in Northern Ireland at the Wrightbus facility in Ballymena in a significant boost for the UK economy and the manufacturing sector.

Ben Werth, chief commercial officer at Wrightbus, said: “We are delighted to once again be partnering with First Bus in the drive to zero-emission public transport. First Bus, like us, is consistently on the forefront of new and exciting technology and at the forefront of zero- and low-emission travel.

The order is part of the largest EV bus purchase outside of London and will see a total of 193 new zero-emission buses being rolled out by First Bus across England from March 2023.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily