Hydrogen bus fleet will be largest in West Mids

A FLEET of 124 new hydrogenfuelled buses will be taking to the streets of the West Midlands after the approval of a £30 million Department for Transport grant.

It follows a bid to the Zeroemission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) fund to promote greener bus transport and will cover the cost of a refuelling facility as well as the buses.

Some of the new vehicles will be articulated tram-style buses set to run on the new Sprint bus priority route along the A34 and A45 between Walsall, Birmingham and Solihull.

Hydrogen buses emit only water vapour and green hydrogen will be used, which is generated from renewable energy, to ensure the scheme is fully zero emission.

The funding tops up private bus company investment in fleets over the next three years to accelerate the switch from diesel buses to clean and green vehicles.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) will now work with bus company partners and the wider hydrogen production industry to get the fleet up and running.

The West Midlands is already leading the way with 20 hydrogen double decker buses, bought by Birmingham City Council and operated by National Express West Midlands.

It means the region will have 144 hydrogen buses on the streets, the largest fleet in the Western world.

Pete Bond, director of integrated transport services with TfWM, said: “Buses are the most used form of public transport in the region and this is welcome Government investment in our network.

“These hydrogen buses and the roll out of electric vehicle charging facilities we are planning shows how the West Midlands is leading the way on decarbonising our transport and making good progress on achieving our net-zero targets.

“It also presents an opportunity to make the West Midlands a world leader in the hydrogen economy”