Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has announced that expansion plans for the region’s electric bus fleet are to speed up.
As Mayor Steve Rotheram looks to rapidly expand the region’s fleet of zero-emission buses, the combined authority has submitted a bid for £31 million of funding. This funding will help with the purchasing of 58 electric double-decker vehicles, complimenting the region’s existing fleet of hydrogen buses.
This development follows October’s decision for control of the region’s buses to be retaken by the Mayor, following almost four decades of deregulation. The utilisation of zero-emission buses comes alongside this, with the mayor seeking to revolutionise the bus network across the Liverpool city region. Through franchising, the region will hold greater control over routes, fares, and timetables, as well as making sure that profits can be reinvested into improving services.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said:
“Devolution has given our area the chance to build the 21st century London-style transport system that passengers deserve. From voting to take back control of our buses, investing in a brand new publicly owned hydrogen fleet, introducing £2 fares, and bringing back the night bus, we’re transforming our network for the better.
“More people get the bus than any other form of public transport. Like with our new publicly owned trains, they deserve to travel on clean, modern, and accessible vehicles. I’m investing to ensure that the Liverpool City Region has a bus fleet to be proud of – one that makes travelling better for passengers and for our planet too.”
Funding, should the bid be successful, will come from the latest phase of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area fund, with the combined authority also contributing £20 million of its own money to go alongside it.
The bid is to be further discussed when the combined authority meets at the end of this week (15th December).
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