First Bus and West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) have announced a further £11.2m investment in the operator’s Bramley depot, which will make half its fleet zero-emission before the end of 2024. The partners have been successful in securing £3.4m in a ‘variation request’ from the Department for Transport (DfT) Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) project.
First Bus is investing an additional £7.8m which will introduce an additional 22 new double-deck electric buses, increasing the total at the depot to 79. Marking the announcement, councillors for the Bramley and Stanningley wards Tom Hinchcliffe and Kevin Ritchie visited the depot. Bramley is currently the home of the largest fleet of zero-emission buses in West Yorkshire, which launched in March.
The additional funding boost comes after the depot was transformed with the capacity to operate a fully electric fleet using earlier ZEBRA funding and investment totalling £29m. Commenting on the latest funding success, Deputy Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee Cllr Peter Carlill said: “These state-of-the-art electric buses will help West Yorkshire towards its goal of becoming a net zero economy by 2038, as well as encouraging more people to use public transport.
“We are constantly working to introduce more zero-emission buses to the region’s fleet – boosting air quality, improving public transport and helping tackle the climate emergency. This investment will help us build a greener and better-connected West Yorkshire.”
Operations Director of First Bus in North & West Yorkshire Megan Hope hosted the councillors for the depot tour. She said: “It was a pleasure to show councillors what our team together with suppliers has achieved with the depot transformation and the introduction of our EV fleet. This will play an important part in skilled green jobs for the future and supporting the wider community.
“It is yet more evidence of our continuing successful partnership with West Yorkshire Combined Authority in bringing major improvements to bus services, supporting a shared ambition for a net-zero transport system and reducing carbon emissions in the city.”
Cllrs Tom Hinchcliffe and Kevin Ritchie jointly added: “We welcome this investment in the Bramley depot and are really pleased to see more electric buses on our streets. Buses remain the most used form of public transport and so any change to make them more environmentally friendly has a significant impact on reaching our city’s climate targets and providing the public transport network our residents deserve.
“From a local point of view, more electric buses means better air quality for the people in the area surrounding the depot, as well as the people on the routes these buses serve. We all know clean air has a huge positive impact on people’s health and well-being so to see this change is great news.”
The current fleet of 57 electric buses consists of 32 single-deck Wrightbus GB Kite Electroliners and 25 StreetDeck Electroliner double-deckers, which entered service in March.
“We’re seeing a positive reaction from customers to the electric buses and believe they will attract more people to consider bus travel by realising the real impact this has in reducing congestion and creating cleaner air and quieter streets,” added Megan.