LIB DEM leader Ed Davey got behind the steering wheel when he visited First York during his party’s national spring conference.

The company is working on making its fleet fully electric by 2024 and earlier this month City of York Council secured £1.8 million funding towards the electrification.

Sir Ed said: “It was great to see first-hand the major strides York has made to decarbonise its public transport network and improve air quality.

"Already being known as a place of innovation and progress, it’s great to see York lead the way once again as it’s set to have one of the only depots outside of London running fully electric fleets.

“This is a testament to the hard work and leadership of the Liberal Democrats in York.”

Sir Ed is in York all weekend with many other Lib Dem members from across the country attending their party's Spring Conference. 

Sir Ed was accompanied on his visit to the bus depot by council leader Cllr Keith Aspden and executive member for economy and strategic planning Cllr Ashley Mason.

Cllr Aspden said: “Improving the city’s air quality has been an issue Liberal Democrats have prioritised in York, from launching the UK’s first voluntary Clean Air Zone, leading the way nationally with the introduction of the largest zero emission Park & Ride fleet in the country and now further electrification of our wider bus fleet, to investing in initiatives across the city which aim to tackle air pollution.

“These include tree planting, electric car charging network and electric waste vehicles, and we will continue to do more.”

Sir Ed said: “It’s clear that across York we are seeing a bus crisis caused by the Government.

"They’re causing uncertainty and putting future of services at risk.

“Passengers need to know that their bus to get to work is still going to be there beyond the end of June. This is becoming a major issue and the Government really needs to wake up and act now before it’s too late.”

He is spending the weekend in York along with many other members of his party to attend their conference,