Department for Transport
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£30 Million for Green Buses to save jobs and reduce CO2
Up to 1000 jobs will be secured and up to 10,000 tonnes of CO2 saved thanks to a grant of £30m to bus operators and local authorities.
The winners of the Green Bus Fund - which aims to encourage and help bus operators and local authorities to buy new low carbon buses - will now be able to purchase 349 vehicles which will operate in most of our main cities and some rural areas by March 2012. Industry estimates are that up to 1000 jobs will be safeguarded as a result of this investment.
Today's announcement is part of the Department for Transport’s wider strategy to encourage a radical shift to low carbon transport and improve air quality in our cities.
Announcing the winning bids for the fund, Transport Minister Sadiq Khan said:
"Both the environment and British industry is receiving a major boost from this £30m fund. It gives the initial support needed to stop the rise in bus CO2 emissions we've seen over the last ten years.
"It will also give UK bus manufacturers the certainty they desperately need to allow them to keep their skilled labour force and continue to lead the way in green innovation.
"Let’s be clear: doing nothing is not an option. Tackling vehicle carbon emissions is a question of when not if, and it's initiatives like this which will deliver the change we need."
The fund will enable bus operators and councils in every region across England to fund the up-front cost of buying low carbon buses. As more low carbon buses are produced and sold, costs will reduce. This will encourage bus technology and will stimulate the market for low carbon buses, an industry in which the UK is a world leader.
Low carbon buses use at least 30 per cent less fuel and emit nearly a third less carbon than an equivalent conventional bus. They therefore have the potential to significantly reduce the impact of road transport on climate change. They will also meet the most stringent emission standards to help improve air quality.
Notes to editors
1. More information about the fund, along with a list of winning bidders and the number of buses they intend to purchase will be available on the Green Bus Fund webpage at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/greenbusfund/
2.
|
Where the buses will operate |
Number of buses |
Amount of Funding (£ million) |
|
Manchester and Stockport |
68 |
5.4 |
|
Greater Manchester |
46 |
2.0 |
|
London |
46 |
5.0 |
|
Oxford |
27 |
2.5 |
|
Bristol, Bath |
23 |
2.9 |
|
Leeds |
22 |
1.7 |
|
Birmingham |
20 |
1.3 |
|
Reading urban area |
20 |
2.2 |
|
Taunton |
18 |
1.7 |
|
Coventry and Warwickshire |
13 |
0.8 |
|
Liverpool |
11 |
1.2 |
|
Milton Keynes |
9 |
0.9 |
|
Sunderland |
8 |
0.8 |
|
Nottingham city |
4 |
0.4 |
|
Stratford-upon-Avon |
4 |
0.3 |
|
Durham City |
3 |
0.3 |
|
Ipswich |
2 |
0.2 |
|
Ormskirk |
2 |
0.2 |
|
rural Cumbria |
2 |
0.3 |
|
Bath |
1 |
0.1 |
|
Total |
349 |
30.2 |
3. The complete list of winners are:
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive – 66 buses
Transport for London – 46 buses
Stagecoach Manchester – 30 buses
Stagecoach in Oxfordshire – 26 buses
Rotala Plc – 23 buses
First West and North Yorkshire – 22 buses
Reading Transport Limited – 20 buses
West Midlands Travel Limited (part of National Express Group) – 20 buses
First Manchester – 14 buses
Cumfybus Limited – 13 buses
Mike de Courcey Travel Ltd – 13 buses
Hatch Green Coaches – 9 buses
Holsworthy Ltd (trading as Beacon Garage) – 9 buses
Nexus (Tyne and Wear PTE) – 8 buses
On a Mission Coaches – 6 buses
Johnsons (Henley) Ltd – 4 buses
Nottingham City Council – 4 buses
R Bullock & Co (Transport) Ltd (trading as Bullocks Coaches) – 4 buses
Durham County Council – 3 buses
Milton Keynes Council – 3 buses
Blueworks Taxis Ltd – 2 buses
Ipswich Buses Ltd – 2 buses
Bath and North East Somerset Council – 1 bus
Thames Travel (Wallingford) Ltd – 1 bus
4. Bids were received from 17 bus companies and 7 local authorities, for a total of 365 buses with a combined value of £32.1m.
5. Bids covered buses from five different manufacturers: Alexander Dennis Ltd, Optare, Volvo, Wrightbus and MCV Bus and Coach Ltd. Bids were for both hybrid and electric buses.
6. Bidders were competing against each other. Provided all other criteria were met, the grant was allocated to those who sought the lowest amount of grant per bus, until the £30 million Fund had been exhausted. There is a limit of £5 million for any one bidder.
7. Most of the buses are hybrids, but the Fund will also support the purchase of at least 55 new electric buses.
8. These buses will start to operate in England from next summer and all will be in service by March 2012.
9. The Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) was reformed this April so that bus operators will now only receive an increase in their grant if they achieve fuel efficiency improvements. If they achieve at least a six per cent improvement in their fuel efficiency, their BSOG rate will be increased, from first of April 2010, by three per cent. From April 2009, bus operators have received an additional payment of six pence for each kilometre they operate with low carbon buses.
Press Enquires: 020 7944 3066
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Public Enquiries: 0300 330 3000
Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk
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