The Hull Bus Alliance has welcomed an important milestone in the revolution of public transport in the city, after The Go-Ahead Group placed a national order for zero-emission buses, which follows a similar order being placed by Stagecoach earlier this year.
To reach the UK’s net zero goal by 2050, the Department for Transport has run two rounds of the zero-emission bus regional areas (ZEBRA) scheme.
Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council, alongside Stagecoach East Midlands and East Yorkshire Buses, jointly bid for ZEBRA 2 funding in December 2023, and were successful with an award of £6million, which was announced in March 2024.
This was achieved thanks to Hull City Council’s additional support of £2m of funding towards the installation of charging infrastructure for the use of local bus operators and the council’s own fleet of passenger vehicles.
The Go-Ahead Group, the parent company of East Yorkshire Buses, has placed its vehicle order with UK bus manufacturer Wrightbus and, in April, Stagecoach ordered its electric buses from Alexander Denis.
Forty of the vehicles are destined for the roads of Hull and East Yorkshire and will replace parts of the decade-old diesel fleets of Stagecoach East Midlands and East Yorkshire Buses.
The ambition is that these will be in service by early 2026.
Although buses make up a small proportion of overall emissions, transport is now the UK’s largest emitter of carbon, with over 200 diesel buses regularly operating in Hull.
The new zero-emission buses are fully electric and run on rechargeable batteries, which can have a range of up to several hundred miles.
They are charged externally, usually at the depot on a plug, after the end of service and, unlike diesel buses, produce no carbon emissions or nitrogen oxides, so can also contribute to improved air quality as well as combating climate change.
Councillor Mark Ieronimo, cabinet portfolio holder for transportation, roads and highways at Hull City Council, said: “News that The Go-Ahead Group and Stagecoach have both now placed their orders, nationally, for electric buses, a number of which will serve the people and communities of Hull, is an exciting milestone and we are one stop nearer to revolutionising public transport in our city.
“Securing 40 of these new vehicles in Hull would not have been possible without the council’s financial commitment to investing in the required charging infrastructure, which ensured our joint bid with partners was successful.
“Electric buses are greener and cleaner and will have a transformative impact on public transport throughout the city, improving things like air quality and providing a smoother and more comfortable ride.
“There are currently no electric or hybrid buses operating on public bus services in Hull so, in addition to the environmental benefits, the new vehicles will have a wider impact by changing how our residents, and visitors to the city, see buses and help encourage, and increase, passenger demand.”
Ben Gilligan, managing director of East Yorkshire Buses, said: “We are really excited about the news that we will be bringing 21 brand-new, zero-emission Wrightbus vehicles into our fleet. They will deliver a significant step change in local air quality and allow our customers to travel on modern, silent vehicles on some of our busiest routes. We look forward to their arrival in our fleet next year.”
Matt Cranwell, managing director at Stagecoach East Midlands, added: “We are excited to place our first order for electric vehicles in Hull. This reflects Stagecoach’s continued commitment to transition to a zero-emission bus fleet to help tackle climate change. We are investing £8.7m in 19 of the latest state of the art vehicles and required charging infrastructure, that will hopefully encourage more local residents to travel sustainably around the City of Hull, as well as help reduce congestion and improve air quality across the region.”
Visit Travel Hull for more information about getting around Hull by bus
