- The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA), which helps operate public transport in six key regions of the Liverpool area, has confirmed plans to add another 50 fully-electric double decker buses to the city’s publicly-operated fleet.
- The new buses will come as part of to £26.1 million fund, granted from the Department for Transport’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, which has allocated £710 million to transport projects in the Liverpool City Region.
- Once delivered, these additional buses will join the 58 fully-electric buses already planned for the region earlier this year, which will help bring the number of electric buses in Liverpool to over 100.
A big boost to Liverpool’s electric bus fleet
Whilst the announcement didn’t specify which bus manufacturer will be selected to fulfil this order of electric buses, the announcement did coincide with a reveal of a refreshed livery for the city’s buses, which was placed on an electric double-deck example from Alexander Dennis, which could be a possible supplier of these new buses.
The region hasn’t set a specific target for electric bus adoption, but does have a wider goal of reaching net zero carbon in the region by 2035, which this new order of buses will help contribute to. Plus, with additional funding remaining through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements scheme, the region has the opportunity to boost that electric bus count up even higher, in the future.
Steve Rotherham, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, commented:
“Today is a landmark moment in our mission to build a London-style, green transport system that works for the people of our city region. With an additional 100 fully electric buses ordered in just the past few months, we’re showing the rest of the country what a climate action strategy looks like in practice, cleaning up our air with fewer emissions,
This is about more than just reducing emissions – it’s about creating a bus network that puts passengers first, making travel cheaper, greener, and more reliable for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on it every day. By bringing buses back under public control, we’re ensuring decisions are made locally – and putting the public firmly back at the heart of public transport.”
With the addition of this news, it’s been a busy couple of weeks for bus electrification, particularly in the UK. Leading transport operator, FirstGroup, has made a £1m investment into EV bus converting specialist, KleanDrive, whilst in London, the city has passed a milestone of 1,600 electric buses.
