The UK government is investing 143 million GBP to roll out an additional 955 zero-emission buses.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper has confirmed that 25 councils will receive a share of this funding to help decarbonise their bus fleets.
This will benefit communities across the UK, with the investment spread across regions such as Derbyshire, Devon, Torbay and the Tees Valley. These awards particularly prioritise rural areas as part of the government’s initiative to improve connectivity.
This funding is part of the second round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) programme. In 2023, this scheme helped the UK register more electric buses than any other European country.
The investment follows the award of over 270 million GBP to 16 Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) and councils from the first round of ZEBRA funding, bringing the total government support for the roll out of zero-emission buses to more than 413 million GBP.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:As part of our plan to improve local transport across the country, we’re providing a further £143 million to improve journeys for bus passengers particularly in rural areas, with almost a thousand brand new, zero-emission buses due to hit the road.
This latest investment into our bus fleet comes on top of the £3.5 billion we have invested into our bus network since 2020, protecting and improving bus routes into 2025 as well as extending the £2 bus fare cap until the end of 2024, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.
The regional breakdown for the funding allocation can be viewed in detail here.
