Leicester is one of a handful of cities outside London using zero-emission buses. There are only 87 of the buses being used outside the capital at the moment and 24 of them are in Leicester, according to recent figures.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to support the purchase of at least 4,000 new zero-emission buses across the UK. But Transport Secretary Mark Harper shared figures with the Transport Select Committee this week showing there are just 87 on England roads outside London.
According to the figures, which Harper said were “not official statistics” and “indicative”, Leicester City Council has 24 zero-emission buses on the road with a further 108 ordered under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) funding scheme. Manchester has 32 of the fleet currently in use while West Yorkshire, the North East, Nottinghamshire, Brighton, West Yorkshire and Hertfordshire each have fewer than 10 in use. Transport for London’s website states there are “more than 950 zero-emission buses” operating in the capital.
The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) called on the Government to explain “how it will ensure its commitment is delivered”. Mr Harper’s statistics show a further 1,845 zero-emission buses have either been ordered or are funded. Leicester has introduced a number of ‘green’ services including the free, city-centre Hop! bus, the Hospital Hopper service, the Orbital service -connecting the city’s Outer Ring Road – and Park & Ride services.
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Government funding for green buses includes the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (Zebra) scheme, which brings together local authorities, bus operators, energy companies and other organisations to develop financial and commercial models. But the Transport Select Committee chairman Iain Stewart MP said improving bus services generally would be the “real silver bullet” to reducing the industry’s carbon footprint.
He said: “The figures we have seen give us reason to doubt that, at its current pace, the Government can reach its target of getting 4,000 zero-emission buses on the road by the next election, although it says over 3,000 are in the pipeline.
“While we urge DfT to keep its foot on the pedal, our recent report on the Government’s National Bus Strategy argued that the real silver bullet to decarbonising this sector will be to improve the UK’s bus services generally, and encourage more people out of their cars, especially over short, local journeys. My Committee will keep a close eye on DfT’s progress as the deadline approaches.”
Mr Harper said: “Our commitment reflects that we want to work with all parts of the UK to decarbonise our transport system and transition to a zero-emission bus fleet. This supports the UK bus manufacturing jobs right across the country including in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England.”
He added: “We expect to announce an end sale date for diesel buses shortly. This will set out the last date by which it is possible to purchase a new diesel bus and will therefore further aid the introduction of zero-emission vehicles to bus fleets.” The commitment is for the end of the Parliament, which is widely expected to be in 2024 ahead of the next general election.
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