Blackpool buses: £8m loan to convert fleet to electric approved

Each new bus will be entirely "tailpipe emissions-free"

An £8m loan to convert Blackpool's bus fleet to run on electric has been approved.

Blackpool Council has agreed to lend Blackpool Transport, which it owns, from its business loans fund.

The money will be used to upgrade the Rigby Road depot by fitting the infrastructure required for electric buses including charging points.

Blackpool Transport is due to replace its current fleet with 115 electric buses in the next three to five years.

It received £20m towards the cost of the project in March after a successful bid to the Department for Transport's Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (Zebra) fund.

The council's shareholder committee approved the £8m loan towards the scheme at its meeting on Monday, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A report to the committee set out a raft of reasons for converting the fleet to electric including increasing diesel costs and the expected phasing out of diesel engines by bus manufacturers in the next five years.

The report added there was potential for an increase in demand for public transport due to various regeneration schemes in the town centre including the relocation of civil servants to new offices being built in King Street.

The change will also support the council's climate emergency policy to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Each new bus will feature a customer-focused design and will be entirely "tailpipe emissions-free", helping to improve air quality across the Fylde Coast.

Speaking when the Zebra grant was announced earlier this year, Jane Cole, managing director at Blackpool Transport Services, said: "Good air quality is hugely important to everyone and the introduction of electric vehicles will contribute positively towards reducing air pollution."