Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 102
If the Government is to meet its target it will need to intervene in the...
Conclusion
If the Government is to meet its target it will need to intervene in the process more actively. We note that Scotland’s scheme in which operators bid for funding centrally, thereby cutting out the middleman, has allowed Scotland to power ahead with its 42 Implementation of the National Bus Strategy bus decarbonisation plans. According to the Secretary of State’s own December 2022 figures, Scotland has ordered 10.11 ZEBs per 100,000 people compared to 0.94 ZEBs per 100,000 people in England outside London.
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 Scotland's scheme.
Paragraph Reference:
102
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.