Up to £120 million is being made available through the Zero Emission Buses Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme, which allows local transport authorities to bid for funding to purchase zero-emission buses. The Department for Transport (DfT) hopes this will reduce transport emissions and improve urban air quality significantly across the UK. The funding aims to deliver up to 500 zero-emission buses nationally, supporting the government’s wider commitment to introduce 4,000 zero-emission buses.
The North East Joint Transport Committee has now been invited to prepare a business case for funding from the ZEBRA programme.
To be submitted in January 2022, if successful a new fleet of 73 electric vehicles could be operating across the region, part of a phased approach to transform the region’s bus fleet.
This investment would be targeted at,
- Coast Road Corridor; serving Newcastle, North Tyneside and South East Northumberland,
- A167 Corridor, Newcastle, Gateshead, Chester-Le- Street and Durham City Centre.
- Consett; serving the communities of Consett, Derwent Valley and Durham;
- Durham Park and Ride: includes services from four park and ride sites, part of a package to improve public transport use and improve air quality; and
- Hexham: centred on Hexham, also serving Allendale, East Tynedale, Haltwhistle, Mid Tyne, Ponteland and Prudhoe as well as parts of Cumbria and Tyne & Wear. It would serve towns and villages and connect to the World Heritage site of Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland National Park and areas of outstanding natural beauty