Leicester City Council has secured £8 million of government funding which will go towards putting a further 60 battery-electric buses into service.
This will take the total number of electric buses in Leicester to 240, with the buses coming on stream from September next year and all of them on the road by March 2027.
Bus companies Arriva and Centrebus are contributing the remaining £18 million towards the cost of the vehicles, meaning the total investment made in Leicester’s electric bus fleet over the past four years is now £100 million.
Arriva will operate 56 of the new buses, while Centrebus will run four.
It is estimated that the new zero emission buses will help reduce the city’s carbon footprint by the equivalent of more than 3000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Cllr Geoff Whittle, asst city mayor for transport and climate said, “Providing zero emission buses across our whole city network is a huge achievement, made possible by the excellent work being done by the Leicester Buses Partnership.
“The bus companies have made a huge commitment to cleaner, greener travel in Leicester, and the council has had great success in securing additional funds from the Department for Transport which has been very supportive of Leicester’s aims.
“Together, we are bringing to life our ambitious ten-year plan to improve services, vehicles and routes across Leicester, and encourage more people to use the city’s public transport network.”
Toby France, Head of Commercial at Arriva Midlands, said, “It’s fantastic to be working with Leicester City Council on this exciting project, which really demonstrates the shared vision and commitments of our Leicester Buses partnership.”
