On the coach road to Destination Zero

28/03/2023 Ashleigh Sinclair Features

As the ZECT report was about to be launched inside the Houses of Parliament, one of the most modern coaches operating outside was Goldline Executive Travel’s Scania Irizar i6s (YN70 YRF), overlooked by the recently refurbished Elizabeth Tower. MARTIN CURTIS

The Houses of Parliament was the location of a reception earlier this month to launch the second report by the CPT and the Zero Emission Coach Taskforce. Martin Curtis reports on the progress so far on the path to Net Zero for the coach industry

Nigel Evans MP, Member of Parliament for the Ribble Valley and a Deputy Speaker of the House, hosted an event in the Churchill Room at the House of Commons to launch the second ‘Coach Road to Destination Zero’ report by the CPT and Zero Emission Coach Taskforce on Moday 13 March. He was accompanied by Graham Vidler, Chief Executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport. Together they set out the basis of the second report of the Zero Emission Coach Taskforce (ZECT), which was designed to outline the measures needed to ensure coach operators can transition to zero-emission technologies.

The taskforce was established in December 2021 and brought together coach industry experts, including operators, manufacturers, infrastructure, finance providers and Government officials. In identifying the barriers facing the coach sector, the new report aims to further ease the path of those in the coach industry to take the next steps towards the change to new technologies. By joining forces, the intention is to reach net zero targets before new diesel vehicles are phased out in 2040.

Currently, there are approximately 2,500 coach operators in the UK, of which 81% are family or individually run. Altogether, there are some 27,500 coaches operating across the country. It was emphasised that the coach is already the greenest way of travelling around the country, with one vehicle able to take up to 50 cars off the road, and each trip emitting 1.5 times less CO2 than rail, five times lower than planes and six times lower than a car, but that low-carbon fuels are now needed to sustain long-distance coach trips until zero-emission technology becomes more readily available and affordable.

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