Rebecca Pow MP welcomes £2.2m of Government funding for brand new zero-emission buses in Somerset

Rebecca Pow MP has welcomed £2.2m of Government funding for Somerset Council to decarbonise their bus fleet, with the funding ensuring buses are more efficient, comfortable and sustainable while improving local journeys.

The funding comes as part of a £143 million investment to roll out 955 zero-emission buses across 25 local councils in England. The new buses will not only be cleaner, helping improve local air quality for bus passengers and local communities, but they will also be more modern and replace older diesel buses, increasing reliability.

The new state-of-the-art buses will meet Enhanced Accessibility Standards and come with features to improve passenger experience such as wifi and USB charging sockets, providing users with considerably quieter, smoother, and more comfortable journeys. The funding comes from the second round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) programme, which will see new electric buses in towns, villages and cities across England, many of which will get zero-emission buses for the first time.

This investment follows over £270 million to 16 Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) and councils 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 Local Transport Authorities.

The new zero-emission buses will also drive on smoother roads thanks to £8.3 billion, enough to resurface over 5,000 miles of roads in England over the next decade, the biggest ever funding boost to improve local roads – made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.

Commenting, Rebecca Pow MP said:

"Buses are vital to people across Taunton Deane, helping people to get to work, school, and appointments - and making those journeys more reliable and comfortable makes a real difference to people.

I’ve been making the case for cleaner public transport and that is why I am delighted the Government is committing a further £2.2 million to improve bus journeys across our area, meaning more modern and reliable fleets. The operator of Buses of Somerset, First Bus South, is also committing its own major investment of £12.5m in this project too. This funding will facilitate 25 new double-decker and single decker electric buses and the proposed routes for operation include the 28, 21, 22, 1 and 2 routes from Taunton. These electric buses will mean cleaner air and a greener future for all of us.”