Roll out of new state-of-the-art electric buses in East Yorkshire provide cleaner and more reliable journeys

Today (Friday, March 22), Transport Secretary Mark Harper has confirmed that 40 zero-emission buses will hit the road as the Hull City and the East Riding of Yorkshire Council receives £5.7 million to decarbonise their bus fleet. 

The new investment will help make local buses across the East Riding of Yorkshire more modern, cleaner and more reliable, improving the local journeys that so many people rely on. 

The funding is part of the £143 million investment from the second round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) programme, which will see new electric buses across towns, villages and cities across England, many of which will get zero-emission buses for the first time. 

The new electric buses come shortly after £2.5 billion of reallocated HS2 funding from the Local Transport Fund which will be invested directly into the North to invest in improvements such as refurbishing local bus stations and improve local connections for more people, in more places, more quickly.   

The funding is in addition to more than £3.5 billion the Government has been investing since 2020 to protect and improve bus services in England.

The £2 bus fare cap has also been extended all the way to 31 December 2024 and a further £1 billion is being invested to improve bus services in the North and the Midlands, both made possible by reallocated HS2 funding. 

Mark Harper, Transport Secretary said: “As part of our plan to improve local transport in Yorkshire and the Humber, we’re providing over £5 million to roll out 40 brand new zero-emission buses in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire. 

“This latest investment into our bus fleet comes on top of the £3.5billion 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 new funding follows almost £57 million to roll out 260 electric buses in Yorkshire and the Humber from the first round of ZEBRA funding, taking the total number of electric buses directly funded by Government in the region to 300. 

The new zero-emission buses will not only be cleaner, helping improve local air quality both for bus users and the local communities, but they will also be more modern and replace older diesel buses.

These state-of-the-art buses will also improve the passenger experience, providing users with considerably quieter and more comfortable journeys. 

They will also meet Enhanced Accessibility Standards, and will come with the latest passenger experience features such as wi-fi and USB charging sockets.