52 more battery-electric buses are to enter service in North East England. It comes after the region was awarded a £19.5 million grant through the government’s Levelling Up Fund for a bid centring on transport decarbonisation.
Allocations of 48 vehicles are confirmed thus far, according to data supplied by Transport North East. The largest benefactor will be Stagecoach North East. It is to receive 20 single-deckers for routes E1, E2 and E6 between Sunderland and South Shields.
Meanwhile, Arriva North East will gain 13 double-deckers and one single-decker for services 43, 44, 45 and 47 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyneside and Northumberland. Go North East (GNE) will receive 14 double-deckers for its Angel 21 corridor between Newcastle, Chester-le-Street and Durham.
26 rapid chargers form part of the Levelling Up Fund bid. The buses for GNE will join 18 existing battery-electric Yutong E10 and E12 models in its fleet.
Transport North East had previously said that the bid called for the buses to run on eight of “the highest frequency routes” in the region. Papers from a meeting in October 2022 note that work relating to the Levelling Up Fund bid is expected to be in place “by spring 2025,” although that indicative timeline included an expected decision from the government in autumn 2022.
In addition to buses, the award will see 92 electric vehicle chargers installed in the North East at locations including park-and-ride sites.
Speaking on behalf of the North East Bus Operators Association, Stagecoach North East Managing Director Steve Walker says that its members are “delighted” with the funding award. He adds that the work involving operators and local authorities to prepare the bid demonstrates “our collaborative approach and absolute commitment to ensuring the future prosperity of local communities.”
