£7.8m investment into new First Bus fleet to push Leeds towards greener future

First Bus is now investing £7.2m in the new vehicles, with a further £4.8m from the DfT grant used to complete the electric fleet project.

The programme for delivery will be completed over the course of the next two years during which time Leeds will receive 32 single deck GB Kite Electroliners.

These will be based at the First Bus depot in Bramley, to the west of the city centre, and more than treble the number of EVs the company is operating in Leeds to further reduce carbon and improve air quality by removing diesel emissions.

A further £2.3m will be spent on charging infrastructure at the Bramley depot, which includes £1.7m ZEBRA funding.

It comes as a fresh study by First Bus showed half of UK adults would take the bus more often if they knew that decision would have a direct positive impact on the environment.

The three main factors people say are the biggest benefits of travelling by bus are – parking hassles (45 per cent), saving money (36 per cent) and protecting the environment (29 per cent).

West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin said:

“We want to improve public transport by introducing greener buses to improve the environment.

“Green buses are a key part of our long-term vision for transport in West Yorkshire, so I’m delighted to see the first of these vehicles being ordered.”

The predicted CO2 savings from the new buses are almost 2,000 tonnes a year. This will add to the current annual reduction of some 750 tonnes achieved by the zero-emission fleets First Bus is operating in Leeds city centre and the Stourton Park and Ride, which opened in September last year.

Paul Matthews, Managing Director of First West Yorkshire, added: “This multi-million pound order is further evidence of our commitment to net-zero carbon transport and sets us on a clear path to expanding our electric bus fleet in Leeds and elsewhere in the region.

“It builds on our shared ambition with the Combined Authority to significantly reduce carbon and other particulate emissions and create cleaner air in towns and cities."