Harrogate Bus Company and North Yorkshire County Council have been awarded £7.8 million as part of a joint bid to make the firm’s fleet all-electric with the delivery of 39 zero-emission buses.
The project will cost almost £20 million in total, with around £11.5 million being invested by Transdev – the French parent firm of Harrogate Bus Company.
It will see 20 single-decker and 19 double-decker buses provided over the next three years, as well as the supporting charging infrastructure.
All the new vehicles will have next stop announcements, USB power and free Wi-Fi.
The joint bid was originally made for more than £8 million, and the £7.8 million received will be used to improve vehicles on routes, including the high-profile 36 from Ripon through Harrogate to Leeds.
The money is coming from the government’s £200 million Zero Emission Bus Regional Area fund, which is delivering almost 1,000 new buses across the country – including 221 in Yorkshire.
Criticism of Harrogate’s level of funding
Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access at North Yorkshire County Council, said the successful bid signalled the authority’s intent to foster a more environmentally-friendly generation of public transport.
His comments follow repeated criticism against the county council over its high proportion of bids for travel-related funding being focused on Harrogate, due to the town being the largest centre of population.
When asked if other areas of the county would see similar schemes, Cllr Mackenzie said:
“Clearly we would be keen to convert all buses that are used in North Yorkshire eventually to electric.”
Earlier this month, Cllr Mackenzie also said he was “confident” that Harrogate would still be able to trial a park and ride service despite funding cuts to a separate government scheme.
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The Bus Back Better initiative is seen as key to the government’s “levelling up” agenda, but has seen its funding more than halved from £3 billion to £1.4 billion.
New bus lanes
North Yorkshire County Council has bid for £116 million from the scheme to fund its Bus Service Improvement Plan, which also includes new bus lanes, more cash support for services and other upgrades across the county.
However, Cllr Mackenzie previously said it was unlikely that the county council would get “anything near” the full amount it bid for. He added:
“Even if we get reduced funding – which is likely – I’m confident there will be money for the various interventions we want to make in Harrogate, including a pilot for a park and ride.”
The county council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan includes £23 million for new bus lanes, £74 million for other infrastructure changes and £14 million for support for bus services.
There is also an aim to increase the 12.1 million passenger journeys in North Yorkshire in the year to March 2019 to 14.3 million journeys by 2030.
