£7.8 million investment sees First Bus order 32 new electric buses for Leeds
- Total investment of £14.3m by First Bus and Government funding secured by Combined Authority
- 32 single-decker buses will save nearly 2,000 tonnes of CO2 every year
- First vehicles expected to arrive in 2023
- UK-built buses will secure green jobs in the UK
- Part of largest-ever UK EV bus order outside of London
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.
The programme for delivery will be completed over the course of the next two years. Leeds will receive 32 single deck GB Kite Electroliners. These will be based at the First Bus depot in Bramley, to the west of the city centre, and more than treble the number of EVs the company is operating in Leeds to further reduce carbon and improve air quality by removing diesel emissions.
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.
“I’ll continue to work with partners to bring more zero emission buses to West Yorkshire and make them a clean and common sight on our roads.”
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:
“Buses are an important part of our transport mix across our region, helping to ease congestion on our roads.
“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.
“It builds on our shared ambition with the Combined Authority to significantly reduce carbon and other particulate emissions and create cleaner air in towns and cities.
“The models we have selected will enhance the journey experience for customers and we look forward to the first vehicles operating on the network next year.”
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.
“All of the buses - the GB Kite Electroliner BEV and the StreetDeck Electroliner BEV, which is the world's most efficient double decker battery-electric bus - will be manufactured and assembled at our Ballymena factory, which means support for jobs in NI, and wider across the UK through our domestic supply chain.”
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.
Photo caption: an example of the single-decker buses that will operate in Leeds.
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Notes to editors
NOTES TO EDITORS
About First Bus
First Bus is one of the UK’s largest bus operators. Making journeys easier for our customers, we were the first national bus operator to accept contactless card payments across all of our services and our First Bus App is voted ‘best in class’ amongst UK bus operators. Our most recent investments are in new, state-of-the-art buses across our key networks.
We work proactively with our local authority partners, making a positive impact on air quality, tackling congestion and improving customer experience. We are focused on First Bus becoming a leader in the transition to a low-carbon future and are committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035; we have pledged not to purchase any new diesel buses after December 2022. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup.
About Wrightbus
Wrightbus, based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, builds the world’s lightest bus chassis and has developed the world’s first double-decker hydrogen bus. Owned by Jo Bamford, who bought the business in 2019, Wrightbus is at the vanguard of the zero-emission bus movement. The first hydrogen buses are in operation in Aberdeen and London, with more local authorities looking to introduce them to their fleet over the coming years.
Useful Electric bus facts:
- Wrightbus’ StreetDeck Electroliner BEV is the world’s most efficient double deck electric bus, following assessments undertaken at the UTAC test facility using the Zemo-accredited Ultra Low Emission Bus (ULEB) test. According to ULEB calculations, the Electroliner also produces 86% less CO2per km than the Zemo Euro VI diesel baseline. The StreetDeck and GB Kite share the same electrical architecture with high component commonality, reducing depot parts inventories and costs.
- Zero emission: Both the GB Kite Electroliner BEVs and the StreetDeck Electroliner BEV release zero emissions, meaning improved air quality in cities.
- Fast charging times: Both buses have best in class rapid charging times of just 2.5 hours. The GB Kite can travel up to 250 miles on full charging, while the StreetDeck Electroliner travels up to 200 miles on full charge.
- UK-made buses: Both models are proudly made in Northern Ireland and this order will create manufacturing jobs well in to 2024. The Wrightbus Electroliner buses contain 98% UK/EU sourced components and suppliers in 47 counties are involved.
- Healthier communities: These zero-emission buses support community members’ personal wellbeing and release no exhaust pollutants that can harm respiratory and cardiovascular health.
- Combatting climate change: These clean buses will play a major role in reducing First Bus’ tail pipe emissions and overall Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. By replacing diesel buses, with this zero emission bus order, it will save approx. 11,745 tonnes CO2e tailpipe emissions per annum (193 vehicles) - that is the equivalent of the carbon emissions from 5,555 diesel cars currently on our roads.
Technical info:
- 20 StreetDeck Electroliner double decker buses, 454kWh spec. Electroliner ER (Extended Range) with 88 seat capacity*
- 173 GB Kite Electroliner single deck buses, 340kWh spec. Electroliner SR (Standard Range) (167 are 11.6meter with 85 person capacity* and 6 are 10.9meter with 82 person capacity*.
- *Can vary depending on operator’s configuration
Media enquiries please contact:
First Bus:
Richard Harrison, PR Manager for North of England
richard.m.harrison@firstbus.co.uk or 07973 668116
Combined Authority
Gary Taylor Gary.Taylor@westyorks-ca.gov.uk
WrightBus:
Naomi Penrose, Wrightbus Account Manager at Nathan Rous PR