Council invests £16m in hydrogen buses

Surrey County Council has added more hydrogen buses to its fleet

There are now 34 hydrogen buses on the streets of Surrey, the council has announced.

Surrey County Council (SCC) said it has invested £16m and partnered with Metrobus to provide greener commuting options.

The fleet is now made up of 23 single-deck buses and 11 double-deckers, the council said.

Matt Furniss, cabinet member for highways, transport and economic growth, said he was "delighted" the buses are in service.

Mr Furniss said: "Our continuous investment in our bus network has contributed to almost 27 million bus passenger journeys made in Surrey last year."

The single deck buses, which have been running since last autumn, can operate for 600 miles (965km) before need refuelling, SCC said.

Refuelling takes less than 10 minutes and they do not need to be refuelled or recharged throughout the day, the council added.

They said this "offers more time on Surrey's roads serving passengers".

The single decker buses operate on the following routes:

• Route 100: Redhill – East Surrey Hospital – Salfords – Horley – Gatwick Airport – Crawley

• Routes 430 & 435: Merstham – Redhill – East Surrey Hospital – Woodhatch – Reigate

While the double decker buses operate on the following routes:

• Routes 420, 460 & 480: Epsom – Preston – Tadworth – Banstead – Sutton – Lower Kingswood – Reigate – Redhill – East Surrey Hospital – Salfords – Horley A23 – Gatwick Airport – Crawley.

Ed Wills, managing director of Metrobus, said: "Together, we put sustainability and the transport needs of local people first."

The council says the buses were built in the UK by Wrightbus.