The Government has announced a £200 million funding to deliver almost 1,000 new green buses across the country. The funding is part of the ZEBRA (Zero Emission Buses Regional Area) scheme. Oxfordshire will receive a share of the new funding to deliver 159 new electric or hydrogen powered buses – benefiting thousands of passengers, slashing emissions, upgrading local transport networks, and making buses cheaper and more accessible for passengers.
John said: “This is a very real and very practical contribution to net zero and this new funding for Oxfordshire will help to deliver that locally. I am particularly pleased that Oxfordshire has received the funding as I have been pushing the Secretary of State for increased bus funding for the area. The funding for these 159 zero-emission buses is very welcome and I will continue to seek support for bus funding in rural areas."
The move is expected to remove over 57,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from the country’s air, as Government continues to go further and faster to achieve net zero, clean up the transport network and deliver a better service for passengers.
The funding is part of the government's £3 billion plan to significantly improve bus services, with new priority lanes, lower and simpler fares, more integrated ticketing and higher frequencies. Jobs in the bus manufacturing industry will be supported as a result of the move and Zero-emission buses are cheaper to run, improving the economics for bus operators. This announcement builds on almost £71 million already provided by the ZEBRA scheme meaning the Government is on track to deliver a total of 4,000 buses as part of the Prime Minister’s National Bus strategy – the most ambitious bus shake up in a generation.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “I will level up and clean up our transport network. That’s why I have announced hundreds of millions of pounds to roll out zero emission buses nationwide. Not only will this improve the experience of passengers, but it will help support our mission to fund 4,000 of these cleaner buses, reach net zero emissions by 2050 and build back greener. Today’s announcement is part of our National Bus Strategy which will introduce lower fares, helping drive down the cost of public transport even further for passengers”.
