Sheffield City Council (SCC) has proposed the creation of an £11.5 million zero-emission bus grant programme using unallocated Clean Air Zone (CAZ) funding and surplus income raised by that scheme.
The plans will go before the SCC Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee on 12 February. If approved, the grant programme will part-fund “at least 30” battery-electric buses.
Authorisation to progress the zero-emission bus grant in Sheffield and use the unallocated CAZ support funding has already been gained from the government. Papers published ahead of the 12 February meeting show around £8.9 million of that will be combined with £2.6 million of surplus income generated by the Zone to create the pot.
The proposed local grant will follow the structure of the national Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme. That will see an up to 75% contribution to the cost increment of a battery-electric over a comparable diesel, and funding towards depot infrastructure.
SCC notes that previous work to retrofit older buses in the city to Euro VI standards as part of air quality mitigation measures was not as successful as hoped. The local authority claims it had “consistently warned about” the lack of effectiveness of those retrofits, although it notes that the CAZ has had a positive effect on air quality.
Government funding for Euro VI bus retrofits was paused pending an investigation in mid-2023 and the scheme has now been ended entirely. The meeting papers note how because of that, “the scheduled bus upgrade in response to the CAZ did not proceed as planned.”
Around 100 non-Euro VI buses in Sheffield that were scheduled for retrofit and for which funding was allocated were affected by the pause and subsequent closure of the upgrade scheme.
Zero-emission buses in Sheffield that are the fruits of the proposed local grant will be procured “as quickly as possible” if it is approved. Their use will be focused on routes in five areas where legal air quality limits are still unmet. Diesel bus emissions are cited as a heavy influence on that non-compliance.
SCC adds that it and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority – which looks set to introduce bus franchising to the wider region – are now lobbying ministers for additional funding towards zero-emission bus procurement.
Transport, Regeneration and Climate Committee Chair Cllr Ben Miskell says that the city council has “ambitions to convert all of the Sheffield bus fleet to electric, but this is not possible without significant government financial help.”
