Zero emission buses coming to West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire Combined Authority is to receive over £24 million of funding for a new fleet of zero-emission buses across the region.

The bid to the Department for Transport's Zero Emission Bus Regional Area scheme (ZEBRA) was fully funding, meaning 111 buses added to those previously announced as being funded by the Combined Authority through the Transforming Cities Fund.

“When I was elected Mayor, I pledged to improve public transport by introducing greener buses to improve the environment. This funding, matched by £33 million funding from the local bus operators, will allow us to introduce new zero-emission buses to Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds and take the number of such buses in the West Yorkshire fleet to over 10%.

“A green, zero-emission bus system is a core element of the Combined Authority’s long-term vision for buses in West Yorkshire. We’ve already allocated £4 million of our own funds to introduce zero-emission buses in Kirklees and Calderdale, funded through the Transforming Cities Fund, and I’m delighted that the Department for Transport has matched our ambitions.

“I’ll continue to work with bus manufacturers, operators and the Department for Transport to bring more zero emission buses to West Yorkshire and make them a common and welcome sight on our roads.”

The £24 million bid to the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) fund will deliver 47 double-decker buses for Arriva, 32 single-decker buses for First and 32 single-decker buses for Transdev across Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds, in addition to those funded by the Combined Authority.

The proposed deployment across the five districts is:

• Bradford - 30 zero-emission buses will operate on four routes fully or partially in Bradford district operated by First and Transdev. Parts of these routes will fall within the Bradford Clean Air Zone (CAZ).
• Calderdale - the Combined Authority is funding the operation of up to eight zero-emission buses on services operating under contract that operate fully or partially in Calderdale and Kirklees districts.
• Kirklees - 18 zero-emission buses will operate on two routes partially in Kirklees district. The Combined Authority will fund up to eight zero-emission buses on services operating under contract that operate fully or partially in Calderdale and Kirklees districts.
• Leeds - 63 zero-emission buses will be introduced on 13 routes fully or partially in Leeds district. Transdev Harrogate was also successful in a bid for zero emission buses on services 7 and 36 to Leeds.
• Wakefield - 47 zero-emission buses will be introduced on five routes fully or partially in Wakefield district.