Wrightbus wins £81m deal to supply almost 200 electric buses
- Published
The bus manufacturer has won an order to supply almost 200 electric buses in England
Ballymena bus manufacturer Wrightbus has won an order to supply almost 200 electric buses to England.
The buses are being bought by First Bus in a deal valued at £81m, supported with a UK government grant of £38m.
The grant helps to bridge the gap between the higher cost of an electric bus compared to a diesel bus.
Wrightbus said the deal to supply First Bus in five areas of England was the largest zero emissions bus order outside of London.
The order will be split across five areas:
Leicester (68 buses) in partnership with Leicester City Council
York (44 Buses) in partnership with City of York Council
Leeds (32 Buses) in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority
Norwich (15 Buses) in partnership with Norfolk County Council
Portsmouth (34 Buses) in partnership with Portsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council
The grant funding comes from the Department for Transport's Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) funding scheme.
UK Transport Minister Baroness Vere said: "This marks a key stepping-stone towards our National Bus Strategy commitment of funding 4,000 zero-emissions buses, as we decarbonise and level up transport across the country.
"Not only does it drive forward our journey to net zero, but will also support hundreds of green, high-skilled jobs in the UK."