Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 10
10
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 101
We support the Government’s ambition to have 4,000 new zero-emission buses on the road in...
Conclusion
We support the Government’s ambition to have 4,000 new zero-emission buses on the road in the UK by the end of this Parliament and welcome the funding it has allocated to meet this aim. However, it seems increasingly unlikely it will meet its target, given how few of these vehicles are now on the road. Currently the funding process is slow and piecemeal. It is too easy for local authorities to put off placing orders despite being given the money to do so and too difficult for UK manufacturers to invest with confidence in new types of vehicle and new manufacturing hubs. In some cases, orders using tens of millions of pounds of public money are being made to overseas manufacturers, with a commensurate impact on domestic vehicle production and threat to the UK bus industry. UK bus manufacturers have called on UK ZEB funding schemes to incentivise UK ZEB orders over overseas orders thereby supporting UK manufacturing. We support those calls and call on the Government to work with the sector to facilitate such incentives.
Government Response Summary
The government will announce an end date for the sale of new non-zero emission buses and publish the consultation response; it will also set out the UK’s roadmap to achieving an entirely ZEB fleet, and outlines existing funding and schemes for ZEBs, but does not directly address incentivizing UK ZEB orders over overseas orders.
Paragraph Reference:
101
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The Government partially accepts this recommendation. Buses have a crucial role to play in transport achieving net zero and driving the green transformation. As such, the Department consulted on setting an end date for the sale of new non-zero emission buses in spring 2022, inviting views on a date range of 2025– 32. We will shortly make an announcement on the end of sales date, and publish the consultation response. In addition we will set out in due course the UK’s roadmap to achieving an entirely ZEB fleet. This will include a date as to when we expect the UK to achieve an all zero-emission bus fleet. In this Parliament we have so far awarded over £330m of dedicated funding for ZEBs in England of the total allocated through the Spending Review 2021. Areas that have received Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) funding, include some predominantly rural areas, such as North Yorkshire which received £7.8m. As well as supporting new zero emission buses, ZEBRA funding enables bus depots to be upgraded with infrastructure to accommodate new electric or hydrogen vehicles. The development of energy storage and smart charging technologies can also mitigate the need for expensive grid connections, both in rural and urban areas. The ZEBRA scheme encouraged bidders to consider these innovative energy solutions, ensuring that areas with poor connectivity are still able to benefit without the need for prohibitively expensive grid reinforcement. The UK is subject to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), which opens up procurement markets among its parties. As such, UK businesses can bid for certain procurement opportunities in the other parties’ territories and vice versa. UK-based manufacturers and other businesses have benefited from funding schemes including the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA), the All- Electric Bus Town or City scheme and the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement scheme. Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis Ltd have, so far, received orders for nearly 500 ZEBs and 350 ZEBs respectively from these UK Government funding schemes.