An extra 117 zero emission buses will be rolled out in Yorkshire, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Hampshire due to a £25.3 million boost from the government. 

The new buses will be manufactured in Northern Ireland by Wrightbus and operated by FirstBus, supporting hundreds of new high-skilled jobs to encourage growth and help level up the economy.

The £25.3 million brings total government funding to almost £300 million for up to 1,395 zero emission buses in England.

The funding is an additional investment from the Zero Emission Buses Regional Areas scheme (ZEBRA), which was launched in 2021 to allow local transport authorities to bid for funding for zero emission buses and supporting infrastructure.

The following councils are now able to purchase more zero emission buses:

• Norfolk County Council will receive an extra £11.5 million to deliver 55 additional ZEBs
• Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council will receive an extra £6.2 million to deliver 28 additional ZEBs
• West Yorkshire Combined Authority will receive an extra £5.7 million to deliver 25 additional ZEBs
• City of York Council will receive an extra £1.9 million to deliver 9 additional ZEBs

Roads Minister Richard Holden said:

“Buses are the most popular form of public transport, and these new British-built zero emission buses will support hundreds of high-quality manufacturing jobs in Northern Ireland, grow our economy and help clean up the air in towns and cities across the country.  

“We’re providing an additional £25.3 million to roll out 117 new buses to provide residents in Yorkshire, Norfolk and Portsmouth with better, cleaner and quieter journeys, as we step up a gear to reach net zero faster and level up transport across the country.”