A BUS depot in York is set to become one of first in the UK outside of London to run fully electric fleets, following a £1.8m investment from the Government.

People across Yorkshire will enjoy greener, cleaner journeys as an extra 34 British-made electric buses are rolled out thanks to £7.6 million from the Government, according to the Department for Transport.

The latest investment announced today (March 2) means that the First Bus York in James Street will operate fully electric fleets by March 2024, one of the first bus depots in the UK outside London to reach this milestone.

Janette Bell, managing director at First Bus said: “We are delighted to be accelerating investment in the electrification of our bus fleet and infrastructure, supported by co-funding from the Department for Transport.

"As leaders in sustainable mobility, we are fully aligned with the Government’s ambitions for a net-zero carbon transport system.

"We are rapidly transforming our business with zero emission bus fleets and will continue to work closely with central and local Government across the UK to deliver our decarbonisation plans.”

The Government funding comes from an extra £25.3 million rolled out nationwide to pave the way for the rollout of zero emission buses (ZEBs).

The funding is an additional investment from the Zero Emission Buses Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme, which was launched in 2021 to allow local transport authorities to bid for funding for zero emission buses and supporting infrastructure.

In March last year, City of York Council was awarded an initial £8.4 million in ZEBRA scheme funding, which enabled an order for 44 electric buses from British manufacturer Wrightbus. The local authorities successful in this initial bid were then offered the opportunity to apply for additional support from the DfT. Of those applicants – five local authorities have been successful, including York.

The move brings total Government funding from the ZEBRA scheme to almost £300 million for up to 1,395 zero emission buses in England, taking the vision of a net zero transport network one step closer to reality.

Councillor Andy D’Agorne, deputy leader and executive member for transport at City of York Council, said: “We are delighted to be successful in receiving the additional funding towards providing clean, zero emission public transport across the city.

“This is fundamental to achieving the city’s carbon reduction goals while supporting the development strategy set out in the Local Plan.

"To encourage greater use of the bus network - and sustainable travel routes - our network and bus services must be safe, convenient and attractive to residents, commuters and visitors.”

The move is part of the Government’s wider £3 billion National Bus Strategy to significantly improve bus services, with lower and simpler fares, more integrated ticketing and higher frequencies.