ZEBRA 2 Discussion

[KX03HZY]

The Reading and West Berkshire bid is said to be for EVs, 24 double deckers in Reading and 10 single & double deckers for Newbury

 

[KX03HZY]

As of 5th March 2024, here is a summary of the known bids so far:

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Brighton and Hove City Council - bidding with Brighton & Hove Buses for 16 double deck EVs on route 7

Buckinghamshire Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority [1] - bidding with Stagecoach East for 15 single deck and 18 double deck EVs for Peterborough routes 1, 2,3 3 and 4

Central Bedfordshire Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Cheshire West and Chester Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

City of York Council [1] - bidding with Transdev for 5 double deck open-top and 19 single deck EVs (preferred type ADL integral Enviro100/200/400) for CitySightseeing and routes 14, 19, 20, 24, 25 and 26

Cornwall Council - bidding jointly with Plymouth Council and Plymouth Citybus for 50 double deck EVs, 6 of which would run into Cornwall as well as 7 single deck EVs for Truro Park and Ride and 1 for Falmouth Town Bus

Cumberland Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Derby City Council - jointly bidding with Nottinghamshire, Arriva and TrentBarton - EVs for Arriva route 1/1A/1C and 38 and FCEVs for the sixes, Skylink and Skylink Express

Derbyshire County Council - bidding for 57 midi, single and double deck EVs for Stagecoach Chesterfield town services and cross-border routes into Sheffield

Devon County Council - bidding with Stagecoach for new EVs for Exeter & North Devon

Dorset Council - bidding with Go South Coast for 10 double deck EVs for Swanage routes 40 & 50 - 3 closed tops, 3 half tops and four convertibles

East Riding of Yorkshire Council - bidding with Hull city, Stagecoach and East Yorkshire buses for 40 EVs in Hull

East Sussex County Council - bidding for 28 double deck EVs (preferred type ADL E400 integrals) for Stagecoach routes 1/1A and 99 in Eastbourne

Essex County Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Gloucestershire County Council - reportedly bidding but no bid details in the public domain yet

Greater Manchester Combined Authority [1] - reportedly bidding but no bid details in the public domain yet

Hampshire County Council [1] - bidding with Stagecoach for 68 EVs (ADL integral E200/400 preferred type) for Basingstoke and Portsmouth - 57 single decks and 11 double decks - routes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 23, 39, 700 and Hoverbus

Hull City Council - bidding with East Riding, Stagecoach and East Yorkshire buses for 40 EVs in Hull - Stagecoach routes 3 & 5, East Yorkshire routes 56, 57 and 66

Isle of Wight Council - bidding with Go South Coast for 22 double and single deck EVs for routes 1, 5 and 9

Lancashire County Council - bidding with Stagecoach and Rotala for 69 EVs - Stagecoach routes 1, 1 (again!), 1A, 2X, 3, 100 and 111, Preston Bus routes 19 and 35

Leicester City Council [1] - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Leicestershire County Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority - bidding for 58 double deck EVs for Stagecoach Gillmoss routes 14, 17, 19 and 20/21

Norfolk County Council [1] - reportedly bidding but no bid details in the public domain yet

North Northamptonshire Council - bidding for 14 double deck EVs (ADL E400 integral preferred type) for Stagecoach Kettering route X4 (

North Somerset Council - reportedly bidding for Weston town services but no bid details in the public domain yet

North Yorkshire Council [1] - was originally reportedly bidding but now said not to be

Nottingham City Council [1] - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Nottinghamshire County Council - jointly bidding with Derby, Arriva and TrentBarton - EVs for Arriva route 1/1A/1C and 38 and FCEVs for the sixes, Skylink and Skylink Express

Plymouth City Council - bidding jointly with Cornwall Council and Plymouth Citybus for 50 double deck EVs

Portsmouth City Council [1] - bidding for 40 single deck EVs, 26 standard ones and 14 'long-range' ones (Wrightbus preferred type) at Hilsea depot for routes 2, 7 and 8

Reading Borough Council - reportedly bidding jointly with West Berkshire Council for 24 double deck EVs for Reading and 10 single & double decks for Newbury

Somerset Council - reportedly bidding but no bid details in the public domain yet

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority [1] - bidding with Stagecoach for 65 double deck EVs for Ecclesfield & Holbrook on Sheffield City services

Southampton City Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly (reported power supply issues at Empress Road)

Southend-on-Sea City Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Staffordshire County Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Stoke-on-Trent City Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Suffolk County Council - bidding with First & Go East Anglia for 38 EVs for First routes 99, 101, 102, 105, 106, 109 and X2/X21/X22 as well as Chambers routes 74, 84/754/784, 373/374, 707, 716, 750/751/753 and 757/758

Surrey County Council - bidding for 19 single deck EVs (Yutong E10 preferred type) for Falcon routes 436 and 461 as well Whitebus route 446

Swindon Borough Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Tees Valley Combined Authority - bidding with Arriva & Stagecoach to bid for 62 EVs - 22 for Arriva Darlington route 2 and Arriva Redcar route 63 as well as 40 for Stagecoach Stockton depot (Nearly the entire allocation i believe)

Telford and Wrekin Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Torbay Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Transport for North East - bidding with Arriva, Stagecoach and Go North East for 43 EVs - 14 double deck EVs for Arriva Durham routes 48, 64 and X46, 7 double deck and 4 single deck EVs for Go North East routes 58 and X66 and 18 single deck EVs for Stagecoach routes 30/31/36

Warwickshire County Council - bidding for 27 new EVs with Stagecoach routes 4, 5/A, 9, 10, 48A and Leamington and Stratford Park & Ride

West Berkshire Council - reportedly bidding jointly with West Berkshire Council for 24 double deck EVs for Reading and 10 single & double decks for Newbury

West Midlands Combined Authority [1] - not been able to locate any bid publicly

West Northamptonshire Council - bidding for 51 EVs for Stagecoach Northampton

West of England Mayoral Combined Authority - bidding with First for 74 EVs (67 double decks and 7 singles) for Hengrove depot in Bristol

West Sussex County Council - bidding with Metrobus for 43 FCEVs (Wrightbus preferred type) - 15 standard-length single decks, 4 long-length single decks and 24 double decks at Crawley depot for routes 21, 22, 23, 61, 93 200, 270, 271, 272, 273, 281, 291 and 400 - Gatwick Airport, Surrey County Council and Kent County Council also listed as contributors.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority [1] - bidding for 41 double deck EVs with First on Leeds routes 1, 6/8 and 33/34 at Hunslet depot

Westmorland and Furness Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Wiltshire Council - bidding with Go South Coast for 23 single and double deck EVs for Salisbury including the Stonehenge Tour

Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly


[1] Local authorities that received funding from ZEBRA 1; for Hampshire County Council, that was via a joint bid led by Portsmouth City Council.

 

[JD2168]

There is apparently also a bid for First Doncaster depot to become fully electric with a mixture of Singles & Doubles.

 

[KX03HZY]

There is apparently also a bid for First Doncaster depot to become fully electric with a mixture of Singles & Doubles.

That's interesting, I'd only heard of the 65 EVs for Stagecoach so far. That would be quite some investment for Doncaster if so!

I'm interested to see whether either would be bought by the operator, or given the preference for franchising, bought by the authority and leased to the operator.

 

[buslad1988]

As of 5th March 2024, here is a summary of the known bids so far:

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Brighton and Hove City Council - bidding with Brighton & Hove Buses for 16 double deck EVs on route 7

Buckinghamshire Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority [1] - bidding with Stagecoach East for 15 single deck and 18 double deck EVs for Peterborough routes 1, 2,3 3 and 4

Central Bedfordshire Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Cheshire West and Chester Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

City of York Council [1] - bidding with Transdev for 5 double deck open-top and 19 single deck EVs (preferred type ADL integral Enviro100/200/400) for CitySightseeing and routes 14, 19, 20, 24, 25 and 26

Cornwall Council - bidding jointly with Plymouth Council and Plymouth Citybus for 50 double deck EVs, 6 of which would run into Cornwall as well as 7 single deck EVs for Truro Park and Ride and 1 for Falmouth Town Bus

Cumberland Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Derby City Council - jointly bidding with Nottinghamshire, Arriva and TrentBarton - EVs for Arriva route 1/1A/1C and 38 and FCEVs for the sixes, Skylink and Skylink Express

Derbyshire County Council - bidding for 57 midi, single and double deck EVs for Stagecoach Chesterfield town services and cross-border routes into Sheffield

Devon County Council - bidding with Stagecoach for new EVs for Exeter & North Devon

Dorset Council - bidding with Go South Coast for 10 double deck EVs for Swanage routes 40 & 50 - 3 closed tops, 3 half tops and four convertibles

East Riding of Yorkshire Council - bidding with Hull city, Stagecoach and East Yorkshire buses for 40 EVs in Hull

East Sussex County Council - bidding for 28 double deck EVs (preferred type ADL E400 integrals) for Stagecoach routes 1/1A and 99 in Eastbourne

Essex County Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Gloucestershire County Council - reportedly bidding but no bid details in the public domain yet

Greater Manchester Combined Authority [1] - reportedly bidding but no bid details in the public domain yet

Hampshire County Council [1] - bidding with Stagecoach for 68 EVs (ADL integral E200/400 preferred type) for Basingstoke and Portsmouth - 57 single decks and 11 double decks - routes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 23, 39, 700 and Hoverbus

Hull City Council - bidding with East Riding, Stagecoach and East Yorkshire buses for 40 EVs in Hull - Stagecoach routes 3 & 5, East Yorkshire routes 56, 57 and 66

Isle of Wight Council - bidding with Go South Coast for 22 double and single deck EVs for routes 1, 5 and 9

Lancashire County Council - bidding with Stagecoach and Rotala for 69 EVs - Stagecoach routes 1, 1 (again!), 1A, 2X, 3, 100 and 111, Preston Bus routes 19 and 35

Leicester City Council [1] - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Leicestershire County Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority - bidding for 58 double deck EVs for Stagecoach Gillmoss routes 14, 17, 19 and 20/21

Norfolk County Council [1] - reportedly bidding but no bid details in the public domain yet

North Northamptonshire Council - bidding for 14 double deck EVs (ADL E400 integral preferred type) for Stagecoach Kettering route X4 (

North Somerset Council - reportedly bidding for Weston town services but no bid details in the public domain yet

North Yorkshire Council [1] - was originally reportedly bidding but now said not to be

Nottingham City Council [1] - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Nottinghamshire County Council - jointly bidding with Derby, Arriva and TrentBarton - EVs for Arriva route 1/1A/1C and 38 and FCEVs for the sixes, Skylink and Skylink Express

Plymouth City Council - bidding jointly with Cornwall Council and Plymouth Citybus for 50 double deck EVs

Portsmouth City Council [1] - bidding for 40 single deck EVs, 26 standard ones and 14 'long-range' ones (Wrightbus preferred type) at Hilsea depot for routes 2, 7 and 8

Reading Borough Council - reportedly bidding jointly with West Berkshire Council for 24 double deck EVs for Reading and 10 single & double decks for Newbury

Somerset Council - reportedly bidding but no bid details in the public domain yet

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority [1] - bidding with Stagecoach for 65 double deck EVs for Ecclesfield & Holbrook on Sheffield City services

Southampton City Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly (reported power supply issues at Empress Road)

Southend-on-Sea City Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Staffordshire County Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Stoke-on-Trent City Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Suffolk County Council - bidding with First & Go East Anglia for 38 EVs for First routes 99, 101, 102, 105, 106, 109 and X2/X21/X22 as well as Chambers routes 74, 84/754/784, 373/374, 707, 716, 750/751/753 and 757/758

Surrey County Council - bidding for 19 single deck EVs (Yutong E10 preferred type) for Falcon routes 436 and 461 as well Whitebus route 446

Swindon Borough Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Tees Valley Combined Authority - bidding with Arriva & Stagecoach to bid for 62 EVs - 22 for Arriva Darlington route 2 and Arriva Redcar route 63 as well as 40 for Stagecoach Stockton depot (Nearly the entire allocation i believe)

Telford and Wrekin Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Torbay Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Transport for North East - bidding with Arriva, Stagecoach and Go North East for 43 EVs - 14 double deck EVs for Arriva Durham routes 48, 64 and X46, 7 double deck and 4 single deck EVs for Go North East routes 58 and X66 and 18 single deck EVs for Stagecoach routes 30/31/36

Warwickshire County Council - bidding for 27 new EVs with Stagecoach routes 4, 5/A, 9, 10, 48A and Leamington and Stratford Park & Ride

West Berkshire Council - reportedly bidding jointly with West Berkshire Council for 24 double deck EVs for Reading and 10 single & double decks for Newbury

West Midlands Combined Authority [1] - not been able to locate any bid publicly

West Northamptonshire Council - bidding for 51 EVs for Stagecoach Northampton

West of England Mayoral Combined Authority - bidding with First for 74 EVs (67 double decks and 7 singles) for Hengrove depot in Bristol

West Sussex County Council - bidding with Metrobus for 43 FCEVs (Wrightbus preferred type) - 15 standard-length single decks, 4 long-length single decks and 24 double decks at Crawley depot for routes 21, 22, 23, 61, 93 200, 270, 271, 272, 273, 281, 291 and 400 - Gatwick Airport, Surrey County Council and Kent County Council also listed as contributors.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority [1] - bidding for 41 double deck EVs with First on Leeds routes 1, 6/8 and 33/34 at Hunslet depot

Westmorland and Furness Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly

Wiltshire Council - bidding with Go South Coast for 23 single and double deck EVs for Salisbury including the Stonehenge Tour

Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council - not been able to locate any bid publicly


[1] Local authorities that received funding from ZEBRA 1; for Hampshire County Council, that was via a joint bid led by Portsmouth City Council.

Thanks for compiling that comprehensive list! Some exciting and ambitious proposals… do we know what criteria is used in the governments decision making?

I presume value for money is top of the list but also surely the most beneficial? - For example Suffolks’ modest bid for 38 buses replaces entire fleets in the South West and North of the county. That proposal has broader and wider-reaching results than say Northamptonshire’s bid for 51 buses for Northampton alone.

Some tough decisions to be made anyhow! And not wanting to talk politics but assume certain ‘unsafe’ areas may now be favoured with an election looming. Which also begs the question will the winners of these awards still be guaranteed the money promised if governments changed…

 

[Trainman40083]

Thanks for compiling that comprehensive list! Some exciting and ambitious proposals… do we know what criteria is used in the governments decision making?

I presume value for money is top of the list but also surely the most beneficial? - For example Suffolks’ modest bid for 38 buses replaces entire fleets in the South West and North of the county. That proposal has broader and wider-reaching results than say Northamptonshire’s bid for 51 buses for Northampton alone.

Some tough decisions to be made anyhow! And not wanting to talk politics but assume certain ‘unsafe’ areas may now be favoured with an election looming. Which also begs the question will the winners of these awards still be guaranteed the money promised if governments changed…

There was a suggestion that areas they had not previously benefitted would be more likely to succeed

 

[buslad1988]

There was a suggestion that areas they had not previously benefitted would be more likely to succeed

I guess that’s fair! I mean it would surely be cheeky of Norfolk to submit a bid when they’ve already received a significant amount for what they’ve done with the First Norwich Electrics.

Also with swathes of investment like this seeing entire fleets being replaced in Blackpool, Warrington etc. I wonder how much thought has been put into what’ll happen in 10-15 years time when fleet renewal is required and all buses of the same vintage need replacing. Just a thought!

 

[stevieinselby]

City of York Council [1] - bidding with Transdev for 5 double deck open-top and 19 single deck EVs (preferred type ADL integral Enviro100/200/400) for CitySightseeing and routes 14, 19, 20, 24, 25 and 26

That seems unlikely - routes 14, 19, 20, 24, 25 and 26 need a total of about 7 buses in service at most, so no way there would be 19 saloons if the bid was just for those services, 9 maybe!

 

[MCR247]

I wouldn’t have thought that it would be sensible to be installing more hydrogen schemes until such a time that existing schemes are fully operational. These seem to centre around fuelling facility issues. This would affect Derby’s Zebra bid.

The production of hydrogen seems to be the problem (rather than the vehicles themselves). A quick check of Bustimes shows the following in service today

Metrobus Crawley 8 out of 20 vehicles in service
Liverpool (Arriva / Stagecoach) 0 out of 20 in service.
Translink (Northern Ireland) 11 out of 23 in service.
Birmingham (National Express West Midlands) 0 out of 20 in service
Aberdeen - not tracking on bustimes but they have 25 hydrogen powered buses.
London (Metroline) 16 out of 20 in service

Total 35 out of 103 (excl Aberdeen) in service with only the London vehicles seeming to be fully utilised. Liverpool reportedly spent £12.5m on their 20 vehicles - so £625k each - which would roughly work out at £80m ( 128 vehicles x £625k ) spent on hydrogen powered vehicles to date - arguably could have been better spent on battery buses.

Electric buses do seem to be starting to run into similar issues though. Arriva have had to delay lauching their Streetdecks/Electroliners in Leicester and Nottingham City Transport’s Yutong’s have been delayed by 2 months due to issues with getting charging facilities sorted.

 

[KX03HZY]

That seems unlikely - routes 14, 19, 20, 24, 25 and 26 need a total of about 7 buses in service at most, so no way there would be 19 saloons if the bid was just for those services, 9 maybe!

I'm not too familiar with the area - but that's what the bid seems to mention! 24 buses overall and 5 open-tops specified. The redacted costs seem to give off the impression of that quantity too. https://www.itravelyork.info/downloads/file/95/zero-emission-bus-regional-areas-2-application-form

Thanks for compiling that comprehensive list! Some exciting and ambitious proposals… do we know what criteria is used in the governments decision making?

I presume value for money is top of the list but also surely the most beneficial? - For example Suffolks’ modest bid for 38 buses replaces entire fleets in the South West and North of the county. That proposal has broader and wider-reaching results than say Northamptonshire’s bid for 51 buses for Northampton alone.

Some tough decisions to be made anyhow! And not wanting to talk politics but assume certain ‘unsafe’ areas may now be favoured with an election looming. Which also begs the question will the winners of these awards still be guaranteed the money promised if governments changed…

There is £25m ringfenced for 'rural' bids - of which Suffolk would be one, but I suspect the VfM rating is what matters first in all of them. I agree that marginal Tory seats seem like obvious suspects for funding - see Suffolk/Lowestoft, East Sussex, Hampshire/Portsmouth bids for example which coincide with marginal Tory-held seats or target Labour seats....

 

[stevieinselby]

I'm not too familiar with the area - but that's what the bid seems to mention! 24 buses overall and 5 open-tops specified. The redacted costs seem to give off the impression of that quantity too. https://www.itravelyork.info/downloads/file/95/zero-emission-bus-regional-areas-2-application-form

Intriguing. And because the section on speccing the buses only provides the space to give two alternatives for one spec, but this bid combines more than one spec, we can't see exactly what they are saying about the main service buses. If the bid is for 19 service buses then that would be enough to cover all the routes listed – not just the ones run by Transdev now but also the 12 (East Yorkshire), 16 (Connexions), 18 (East Yorkshire), 19 (Pullman), 21 (Pullman), 36/X36 (Pullman) and 412 (Connexions) even though the current operators are not part of the bid. I wonder if that means Transdev have secured the contract to take on all of those routes? Or if CYC are waiting until they find out the results of the Zebra bid before awarding the contracts?

 

[MotCO]

There is £25m ringfenced for 'rural' bids - of which Suffolk would be one, but I suspect the VfM rating is what matters first in all of them. I agree that marginal Tory seats seem like obvious suspects for funding - see Suffolk/Lowestoft, East Sussex, Hampshire/Portsmouth bids for example which coincide with marginal Tory-held seats or target Labour seats....

I understand the political aspect, but surely the best publicity would be to see these new electric buses running around, and I can't see any of these being delivered before the next election if a decision is still awaited.

 

[Andyh82]

Intriguing. And because the section on speccing the buses only provides the space to give two alternatives for one spec, but this bid combines more than one spec, we can't see exactly what they are saying about the main service buses. If the bid is for 19 service buses then that would be enough to cover all the routes listed – not just the ones run by Transdev now but also the 12 (East Yorkshire), 16 (Connexions), 18 (East Yorkshire), 19 (Pullman), 21 (Pullman), 36/X36 (Pullman) and 412 (Connexions) even though the current operators are not part of the bid. I wonder if that means Transdev have secured the contract to take on all of those routes? Or if CYC are waiting until they find out the results of the Zebra bid before awarding the contracts?

This is surely one side effect of buying electric buses for tendered services, at least until a time in the future when electric buses are wide spread and every operator is electric

Say York and Transdev win the bid, get the electric buses, What happens when the tender is up in 5 years time, and any other competitors in that tender round don’t have electric depots?

 

[stevieinselby]

This is surely one side effect of buying electric buses for tendered services, at least until a time in the future when electric buses are wide spread and every operator is electric

Say York and Transdev win the bid, get the electric buses, What happens when the tender is up in 5 years time, and any other competitors in that tender round don’t have electric depots?

Presumably the tender would specify electric buses, and smaller independents that were not geared up for electric buses wouldn't be able to qualify – just like in previous rounds, tenders have specified Euro VI or wheelchair-accessible buses without there being any legal requirement for such buses to be used.

 

[KX03HZY]

I guess that’s fair! I mean it would surely be cheeky of Norfolk to submit a bid when they’ve already received a significant amount for what they’ve done with the First Norwich Electrics.

Also with swathes of investment like this seeing entire fleets being replaced in Blackpool, Warrington etc. I wonder how much thought has been put into what’ll happen in 10-15 years time when fleet renewal is required and all buses of the same vintage need replacing. Just a thought!

I don't think it's cheeky at all. The inevitable shift is towards zero emission operation for buses but they remain unviable commercially in 99% of instances. For more and more places in the last few years, new bus purchase in general has become unviable. Let's not forget any ZEBRA bid still requires very significant commercial investment on the part of the operator, with a number of bids stated clearly that if it were for normal diesel buses such new vehicle orders would not be proposed.

The government has chosen to have this 'postcode lottery' style system for authorities needing new electric buses (amongst other things...), so any good authority worth their weight will jump at any chance for extra capital funding for their area.

I daren't say Norfolk could still yet propose electrification of First Yarmouth services or Lynx King's Lynn services or even interurban Excel or Sanders services through a ZEBRA2 bid that's made public....

As for Warrington they have set aside an overall fund of £97m for a 30-year electric bus operating period (including the ZEBRA money), this includes battery refreshes as well as a full fleet replacement at year 15.

A few more bids:
Transport for West Midlands and Rotala are bidding for 14 EVs: https://democracy.solihull.gov.uk/documents/s118058/WMCA Activity Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.pdf

TfWM has also supported the region’s second biggest

operator, Diamond, in bidding for further ZEBRA 2 funding to support

procurement of 14 buses, their first major step to electrifying their fleet.

Torbay are bidding with Stagecoach, very little details otherwise:https://www.torbay.gov.uk/DemocraticServices/documents/s145110/Minutes Public Pack 19102023 Transport and Parking Working Party.pdf

61. Proposed ZEBRA Bid - Peter Knight from Stagecoach attending at 5.15 pm

The Chairman welcomed Peter Knight, Manager of Stagecoach to the meeting to

provide an update on the proposed ZEBRA bid from Stagecoach.

Cllr Billings thanked Mr Knight for attending the meeting today.

Transport and Parking Working Party Thursday, 19 October 2023

ACTIONS –

 The Working Party recommended to support the bid led by Stagecoach to

introduce electric buses into Torbay.

 Adam Luscombe to provide any regular updates to the working party when

relevant. Peter Knight to attend a future meeting as the proposal progresses

with DfT.

 Adam Luscombe will draft a further letter of support from the members of the

working party to be sent to Torbay MP’s.

As a beside, we should find out within just a couple of weeks who has been successful in their bids. No doubt LTAs coinciding with marginal parliamentary constituencies, I suspect in part....

 

[Trainman40083]

Electric buses do seem to be starting to run into similar issues though. Arriva have had to delay lauching their Streetdecks/Electroliners in Leicester and Nottingham City Transport’s Yutong’s have been delayed by 2 months due to issues with getting charging facilities sorted.

I think there was an article in the Guardian about the extreme delay in getting connections to the grid.. It is as if everyone wants one at the same time for transport, industry, housing etc.. But then they talk about green projects delivering four times the power this country could possibly need..Most odd

 

[KX03HZY]

Rotala PLC - Transport Solutions

www.rotala.uk

A bit more detail about the bids Rotala are involved in, including the previously unmentioned Staffordshire bid:

The award of these funding opportunities would enable Rotala to invest in brand new vehicles across our group businesses including:

14 new Electric Vehicles for Diamond Bus in the West Midlands operating on services 4H & 45
10 new Electric Vehicles for Preston Bus in Lancashire, for services 19 & 100
6 new Electric Vehicles for Diamond East Midlands services 8 & 9 across Staffordshire and into south Derbyshire.

 

[thameslink2000]

Gloucestershire

Issue - items at meetings - Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) Funding Application

Gloucestershire’s ZEBRA 2 application included the following routes:
 Routes 94 and 94x serve Gloucester and Cheltenham and offer an opportunity to electrify one of Gloucestershire’s busiest bus routes, providing high visibility on a corridor identified in Gloucestershire’s Local Transport Plan (LTP), Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) and in the emerging express-bus study.
 Routes 41, 42, and 43 (linking Tewkesbury to Cheltenham) as well as route 71 (linking Tewkesbury to Gloucester) are also recognised in the LTP, BSIP, and the emerging express-bus corridor study. These services provide high quality regular bus services for the proposed expansion of Gloucestershire’s rural DRT service to link into. In addition, routes 41, 42, and 43 will benefit from investment in bus priority as part of the M5 J10 scheme and developer fundingmaking this a real opportunity to create a flagship express-bus corridor for Gloucestershire.
 Route T, links Bishop Cleeve and Tewkesbury, complements the 41 and 71, and would complete the EV conversion of Stagecoach’s Tewkesbury network.
 Routes 1 and 2 serve Gloucester and run through an Air Quality Management Area, providing significant opportunities to improve the health of Gloucestershire residents and have quality buses serving some of our most deprived communities.
 Route 99, linking Cheltenham General Hospital to Gloucester Royal Hospital via Arle Court. This route provides significant benefits for NHS workers as well as Gloucestershire residents needing to access hospital services. It aligns with Gloucestershire’s LTP and BSIP and links to one of GCC’s major investment projects and flagship Interchange Hub, at Arle Court.  Routes P, Q, and L provide local services within Cheltenham, which has long suffered from poor air quality.
 Route 801, links Moreton-in-Marsh to Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water and Cheltenham. This route would see investment in one of our emerging express-bus corridors, which we plan to enhance using BSIP+ funding, and provide links to the Gloucestershire “Robin” service in the north Cotswolds and to rail services at Moreton-in-Marsh station.
 Routes 802 and 855 are rural services linking Bourton-on-the-Water to Upper Rissington and Cirencester.
 Route 777 serves Lydney to Coleford. As with the 801, these are truly rural bus routes that would benefit a significant congestion hotspot and AQMA.

 

[820KDV]

And the results are out... https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ional-areas-zebra-scheme-funding-amounts#fn:1

Funding amounts for local transport authorities from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) programmes were allocated in the:

• second ZEBRA allocation (ZEBRA 2) for financial years 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025
• first ZEBRA allocation (ZEBRA 1) for financial years 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023

These programmes provided capital funding to local transport authorities to support the introduction of zero emission buses and associated infrastructure.

ZEBRA 2​

Background​

On 8 September 2023, we announced that the ZEBRA 2 programme would provide up to £129 million in funding for local transport authorities (LTAs) in England, (outside of London) to support the introduction of hundreds more zero emission buses (ZEBs) and associated infrastructure.

ZEBRA 2 expands on the success of ZEBRA 1 and supports the adoption of ZEB technology and supporting infrastructure. It focuses on increasing the number of LTAs that introduce ZEBs, spreading the investment of ZEBs and supporting the long-term goal of transitioning the entire bus fleet.

In recognition of the additional challenges faced when introducing ZEBs in rural areas and to support LTAs and bus operators take the first step towards decarbonising buses, at least £25 million of ZEBRA 2 funding was initially reserved for proposals to introduce ZEBs in rural areas.

Funding allocations​

The ZEBRA 2 programme will provide funding of up to £142.8 million, which will support up to 955 more zero emission buses (ZEBs) and associated infrastructure across 25 local transport areas. This includes £40 million that will be invested in projects that serve predominantly rural areas.

Numbers supplied may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Name	Funding allocation (£)
Brighton and Hove City Council	£2,900,000
Cornwall Council	£1,300,000
Derbyshire County Council	£5,100,000
Devon County Council	£5,300,000
Essex County Council	£4,800,000
Gloucestershire County Council	£5,900,000
Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Council	£5,700,000
Isle of Wight	£4,500,000
Leicestershire County Council	£8,100,000
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority	£9,400,000
North Somerset Council	£2,100,000
Nottinghamshire County Council	£2,800,000
Plymouth City Council	£9,500,000
Reading Borough Council	£4,700,000
Somerset Council	£2,200,000
Staffordshire County Council	£3,100,000
Surrey County Council	£3,200,000
Tees Valley Combined Authority	£7,400,000
Torbay Council	£7,100,000
Transport North East	£7,400,000
Warwickshire County Council	£4,300,000
West Northamptonshire Council	£9,400,000
West of England Mayoral Combined Authority	£6,600,000
West Sussex County Council[footnote 1]	£10,100,000
Wiltshire Council	£3,400,000

Footnotes​

1. Funding for West Sussex’s project is conditional ↩

 

[Volvodart]

First Bus to invest £89m in zero-emission bus operations after DfT ‘ZEBRA 2’ funding success

First Bus to invest £89m in zero-emission bus operations after DfT ‘ZEBRA 2’ funding success

£89 million investment

www.firstgroupplc.com

£89 million investment in 178 zero-emission buses and infrastructure across four regions
Worked with Local Authority Partners to secure £16 million of Government co-funding
Operator will run more than 800 Zero Emission vehicles across 14 electrified depots in the UK
First Bus is investing £89m in a further 178 zero-emission buses and infrastructure across four of its regions. In partnership with Local Authorities, funding of £16m has been secured through the latest round of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme.

The latest investment will also enable four depot sites in Taunton, Weston-super-Mare, Basildon and Hengrove in Bristol, to upgrade their power and infrastructure; futureproofing them to operate a fully electric fleet in the coming years.

This latest round of funding, underpinned by investment from First Bus, part of FirstGroup, allows some of the bus operator’s most rural communities, alongside inter-urban routes, to benefit from state-of-the-art electric buses, improving air quality and significantly reducing carbon emissions.

First Bus will introduce a total of 178 zero-emission buses across the following regions;

Basildon depot in partnership with Essex County Council
Weston-super-Mare depot in partnership with North Somerset Council
Hengrove depot in partnership with West of England Combined Authority (WECA)
Taunton depot in partnership with Somerset Council
This latest news follows quickly off the back of the company’s Norwich depot becoming the first depot outside of London to run a zero-emission bus fleet with its two further depots in York and Leicester set to follow suit and roll out their own zero-emission bus networks by the end of the spring.

The completion of all these projects means First Bus will operate more than 800 zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure at 14 depot sites across their UK operation.

At least 18% of its overall UK bus fleet will be zero-emission at the completion of these projects – a huge step in the company’s pledge to operate a fully zero-emission bus fleet by 2035.

Janette Bell, Managing Director for First Bus, said:

“Today marks a significant milestone as we invest further in our journey towards a zero-emission bus fleet across our UK operations. We’re delighted that customers will benefit from Government co-funding of these transformative projects. We’ve worked tirelessly alongside our Local Authority partners to get to this point and cannot wait to get these vehicles out into service for our customers.

"It is an exciting time for our colleagues at all four of these sites as we start to transform and futureproof our depots. This is also great news for our customers, who will see the immediate benefits of these state-of-the-art vehicles – including improved air quality and enhanced customer experience.

"As leaders in sustainable mobility, we’ll continue to work closely with central and local Government across the UK to support the delivery of our national decarbonisation commitments in our relentless pursuit to create a nation who loves and uses the bus.”

Transport Secretary, Mark Harper said:

“As part of our plan to improve local transport across the country, we’re providing a further £143 million to improve journeys for bus passengers particularly in rural areas, with almost a thousand brand new, zero-emission buses due to hit the road.

“This latest investment into our bus fleet comes on top of the £3.5 billion we have invested into our bus network since 2020, protecting and improving bus routes into 2025 as well as extending the £2 bus fare cap until the end of 2024, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.”

 

[Mollman]

And the results are out... https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ional-areas-zebra-scheme-funding-amounts#fn:1

An interesting list, especially when broken down by region as Route One has done. Most of the allocation is going to the South and South West, likely to compensate for lack of 'Network North' funding.
https://www.route-one.net/news/government-announces-143m-zebra-2-funding-allocations/

Local Transport Authority	Allocation	Number of buses
NORTH WEST
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority	£9,400,000	58
North West total	£9,400,000	58
NORTH EAST
Tees Valley Combined Authority	£7,400,000	62
Transport North East	£7,400,000	43
North East total	£14,800,000	105
YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER
Hull City and East Riding of Yorkshire Council	£5,700,000	40
Yorkshire and the Humber total	£5,700,000	40
EAST MIDLANDS
Derbyshire County Council*	£5,100,000	57
Leicestershire County Council*	£8,100,000	46
Nottinghamshire County Council*	£2,800,000	23
West Northamptonshire Council	£9,400,000	51
East Midlands total	£25,400,000	177
WEST MIDLANDS
Staffordshire County Council*	£3,100,000	17
Warwickshire County Council*	£4,300,000	27
West Midlands total	£7,400,000	44
SOUTH WEST
Cornwall Council	£1,300,000	8
Devon County Council*	£5,300,000	41
Gloucestershire County Council*	£5,900,000	58
North Somerset Council*	£2,100,000	24
Plymouth City Council	£9,500,000	50
Somerset Council*	£2,200,000	25
Torbay Council	£7,100,000	49
West of England Mayoral Combined Authority	£6,600,000	74
Wiltshire Council	£3,400,000	23
South West total	£43,400,000	352
SOUTH EAST
Brighton and Hove City Council	£2,900,000	16
Essex County Council	£4,800,000	55
Isle of Wight	£4,500,000	22
Surrey County Council	£3,200,000	19
West Sussex County Council†	£10,100,000	43
Reading Borough Council	£4,700,000	24
South East total	£30,200,000	179
ENGLAND TOTAL	£142,800,000	955
* Rural † Funding for West Sussex’s project is conditional

 

[47550]

With a Zebra funding, is there any requirement for vehicles to be British built ?

 

[Edvid]

No. As with ZEBRA 1, some of the ZEBRA 2 bids will translate to orders going overseas.

 

[Hyebone]

An interesting list, especially when broken down by region as Route One has done. Most of the allocation is going to the South and South West, likely to compensate for lack of 'Network North' funding.
https://www.route-one.net/news/government-announces-143m-zebra-2-funding-allocations/

57 for Chesterfield with only £5.1M? Considering the ADL Enviro400EV costs roughly £500,000, that's a lot of vehicles... Is the rest of it funded by Stagecoach themselves?

 

[Edvid]

Yes, Stagecoach fund most of the rest (some local authorities help pay for the infrastructure required). Funding amounts generally apply as noted below (source):

DfT will contribute up to 75% of the cost difference between a ZEB and a standard conventional diesel bus equivalent of the same total passenger capacity.

For infrastructure, DfT will contribute up to 75% of the total capital expenditure incurred as a result of its purchase and installation.

 

[Snow1964]

With a Zebra funding, is there any requirement for vehicles to be British built ?

No, for Zebra 1 about half the orders went overseas (mainly Yutong and Volvo).

I think it was only something like 12% were English built, the balance coming from Scotland and Northern Ireland

 

[Steve440]

Update from Stagecoach regarding 367 vehicles:

Stagecoach welcomes Government investment into new zero-emission buses as Transport Secretary visits Cheltenham depot

25 councils across England to receive funding for cleaner, more modern and more reliable bus fleets, with rural areas prioritised Government support will unlock further fleet investment by Stagecoach New zero-emission vehicles will enter service across England, from Torbay to Newcastle

media.stagecoachgroup.com

Stagecoach welcomes Government investment into new zero-emission buses as Transport Secretary visits Cheltenham depot
25 councils across England to receive funding for cleaner, more modern and more reliable bus fleets, with rural areas prioritised
Government support will unlock further fleet investment by Stagecoach
New zero-emission vehicles will enter service across England, from Torbay to Newcastle
Stagecoach, the UK’s largest bus and coach operator, welcomed Transport Secretary, Mark Harper MP, to its Cheltenham depot as he announced the award of £143 million to roll-out more zero-emission buses through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme.

Mr Harper was accompanied by Cheltenham MP and Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk MP and met leaders from Gloucestershire County Council, one of the successful councils awarded funding.

Stagecoach is participating in eleven projects to deploy 367 electric buses across England, from Torbay to as far north as Newcastle, involving six of Stagecoach’s operating companies.

The new state-of-the-art buses will improve the passenger experience, providing users with considerably quieter, smoother, and more comfortable journeys. They will also meet Enhanced Accessibility Standards and will come with the latest passenger experience features. The funding comes from the second round of the ZEBRA programme, which will see new electric buses in towns, villages and cities across England, with £40m of the funding ring-fenced for the most rural parts of the country.

Today’s investment follows over £270 million to 16 councils in England from the first round of ZEBRA funding, bringing the total Government support to roll out zero-emission buses to more than £413 million across 41 LTAs.

 

[Volvodart]

And Arriva

Arriva Group welcomes ZEBRA funding bid success in five locations served by its UK Bus division

ZEBRA funding awarded to support 72 new zero emission vehicles coming into Arriva’s fleets in the North East and the Midlands. Working in partnership with Local Transport Authorities has been key to successful bids. Including the Zebra award, it is expected that around £43 million would be...

news.arriva.co.uk

electric buses would add to the 24 which Arriva expects to be operational by May this year. This will mean that around 50 per cent of all services operated by Arriva in Leicester will be zero emission.

Arriva UK Bus is the third-largest provider of bus services in regional markets, outside London, with rural, urban and inter-urban services. It is also one of the market leaders in London, where it operates around 17 per cent of all bus services operating there.

Notes to editors:

Arriva partnered with the following authorities to submit ZEBRA funding bids for the five areas:

Leicestershire County Council (Leicester)
Staffordshire County Council (Tamworth)
Transport North East (Durham)
Tees Valley Combined Authority (for both Redcar and Darlington)

 

[Edvid]

Good to see Arriva still involved, even if on a modest footing relative to the other big groups.

Go-Ahead details below.

The Go-Ahead Group reaches a milestone with over 1100 zero emission buses - a leader in the UK

• The Go-Ahead Group adds 201 zero emission buses to its regional fleets• Six of Go-Ahead’s regional bus companies celebrate a share of £112 million joint investment• Go-Ahead's zero emission bus total exceeds 1100 - the largest in the UK • The investment will help Go-Ahead reach its...

newsroom.go-ahead.com

22 MAR 2024

The Go-Ahead Group reaches a milestone with over 1100 zero emission buses - a leader in the UK​

• The Go-Ahead Group adds 201 zero emission buses to its regional fleets
• Six of Go-Ahead’s regional bus companies celebrate a share of £112 million joint investment
• Go-Ahead's zero emission bus total exceeds 1100 - the largest in the UK
• The investment will help Go-Ahead reach its decarbonisation targets by 2035

The Go-Ahead Group, a leading provider of public transport services, proudly announces a significant achievement in sustainable public transport with the introduction of an additional 201 zero-emission buses to its fleet at regional bus companies, including Plymouth CityBus, Go Cornwall Bus, Go North East, Pulhams Coaches, Salisbury Reds, Southern Vectis, East Yorkshire Buses, and Brighton & Hove and Metrobus.

This substantial addition, delivery expected by March 2026, will bring Go-Ahead's total zero-emission bus count to over 1100, solidifying its commitment to environmental responsibility and contributing to cleaner air in communities across the UK.

The £112 million pooled investments in this initiative signifies a joint commitment from the Department for Transport, Go-Ahead’s bus companies and our local authority partners:

• 50 ZEBs (Zero Emission Buses) with £28.5 million allocated to Go South West’s, Plymouth CityBus, and Go Cornwall Bus operators.
• Go South Coast operators, Southern Vectis and Salisbury Reds will add 45 zero emission buses to its fleets, comprising an £24.1 million investment.
• £35 million for Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus, with 59 ZEBs - 43 for its Metrobus fleet in Crawley and 16 for its Brighton & Hove Buses division.
• At Go North East, Riverside depot gets a further £5.7 million invested for 11 ZEBs.
• Pulhams Coaches celebrates 15 ZEBs at its Bourton-on-the-Water depot, with an £8 million investment serving its rural communities.
• And finally, in Hull, East Yorkshire Buses will introduce 21 ZEBs with a total of £10.9 million investment.

The total investment, comprising both buses and infrastructure amounts to £112 million, with the ZEBRA contribution standing at £44 million and local authorities contributing £6 million. Consequently, Go-Ahead’s investment comes to £62 million. This collaborative effort underscores the pivotal role of public-private partnerships in advancing forward sustainable transport solutions.

This significant investment is serving rural communities such as on Pulhams Coaches’ Bourton-on-the-Water routes and Southern Vectis’ Isle of Wight routes, demonstrating a commitment to finding deliverable ZEB solutions outside the big urban areas. Furthermore, customers travelling via Salisbury Reds routes to Stonehenge are to benefit from a fully zero emission bus fleet.

Each ZEB deployed by The Go-Ahead Group saves on average 60 tonnes of carbon emissions per year contributing significantly to the fight against climate change and to cleaner air and a healthier environment for communities across the UK.

"We are proud to lead the way in electrifying urban transit and accelerating the transition to cleaner, greener transport and we extend our gratitude to all our partners for trusting in us to deliver," said Miguel Parras, CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of The Go-Ahead Group. "Our ongoing partnership with local authority partners and our investment in cutting-edge EV (Electric Vehicle) technology are driving meaningful reductions in carbon emissions and delivering tangible benefits to communities across the UK."

Matt Carney, CEO – Go-Ahead Bus said: "Today’s news cements our position as leaders in delivering zero emission public transport. Our collaboration with local authority partners, supported by the Government's ZEBRA scheme, reflects our shared vision for a cleaner, more sustainable future. This expansion of our electric bus fleet not only demonstrates our commitment to reducing emissions but also marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of public transport in our areas of operation. We are dedicated to contributing to a greener, more sustainable future. I'm confident we'll achieve our goal of being fully zero-emission by 2035."

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “As part of our plan to improve local transport across the country, we’re providing a further £143 million to improve journeys for bus passengers particularly in rural areas, with almost a thousand brand new, zero-emission buses due to hit the road.
“This latest investment into our bus fleet comes on top of the £3.5 billion we have invested into our bus network since 2020, protecting and improving bus routes into 2025 as well as extending the £2 bus fare cap until the end of 2024, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.”
The Go-Ahead Group remains committed to investing in innovative technologies and operational practices that support its environmental objectives while continuing to deliver reliable and accessible public transport services for passengers across the UK. Go-Ahead plans to achieve a fully decarbonised bus fleet by 2035.

 

[507021]

I'm very pleased to see the Liverpool City Region's bid was successful, hopefully the introduction of whichever type is chosen is a much more positive experience.

Funding secured to bring dozens of new electric buses to Liverpool City Region

<p>Funding secured to bring dozens of new electric buses to Liverpool City Region More than £9m has been secured to help bring 58 fully-electric double-decker buses to the Liverpool City Region, further bolstering the existing zero-emission fleet. The £9.4m has been awarded to the Combined...

www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk

Funding secured to bring dozens of new electric buses to Liverpool City Region​

Friday, 22 March 2024
General News
Transport
Estimated Read: 2 min

Queens Square Bus station, Liverpool. Picture Jason Roberts

More than £9m has been secured to help bring 58 fully-electric double-decker buses to the Liverpool City Region, further bolstering the existing zero-emission fleet.

The £9.4m has been awarded to the Combined Authority (CA) following a successful bid to the latest tranche of Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area fund (ZEBRA 2), which covers up to 75% of the cost difference between the zero emission vehicles and a standard diesel engine bus.

As approved when the bid was submitted in December 2023, the Combined Authority will also be contributing £22m in match-funding to the project, bringing the total amount of money committed to the project to more than £30m.

The new vehicles will join the city region’s current fleet which is already more than 70% zero or low emissions, including state-of-the-art hydrogen buses as well as buses powered by hybrid electric and biomethane gas.

It’s planned that the buses – which will be operated by Stagecoach – will run on the 17, 19, 14 and 20/21 bus routes between Kirkby, Tower Hill, Northwood and Liverpool city centre.

Richard McGuckin, Executive Director for Place at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority said:

“We’re delighted to welcome the announcement of our successful bid to Department for Transport’s ZEBRA 2 fund. We know this was a highly competitive process so this award speaks to high quality of our submission and the hard work of colleagues.

“The money secured will, along with the match-funding already committed by the CA, help to bring dozens of new zero-emission buses to the city region enabling us push forward with our ambitions to decarbonise our transport network and improve air quality.”