Plans to increase the number of electric buses in West Yorkshire to help lower carbon emissions have been preliminarily approved at a recent meeting of the Combined Authority, with a final business case to be set out before the scheme goes ahead.
The new vehicles will be part of the West Yorkshire Zero Emission Bus programme and replace older diesel vehicles. New electric charging facilities in the region’s bus depots and charging points on bus routes are also planned as part of the scheme.
The programme will be delivered in three phases, with the first introducing 111 electric buses in Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield. The second phase would introduce electric buses to Calderdale and Kirklees, and the third intends to introduce a further 126 zero-emission buses across West Yorkshire, along with the infrastructure to support them.
The Authority says that the programme has the potential to reduce carbon emissions in the region by between 12,000 and 17,000 tonnes per year, and is aimed at modernising services, increasing the number of people using buses in West Yorkshire and potentially increasing the number of green jobs in the region.
At its meeting in Leeds on 23 June, the Combined Authority agreed to begin work on the final business case for the West Yorkshire Zero Emission Bus programme, and agreed to indicatively allocate £50m towards the scheme, subject to final approval.
