Work has started at a depot to bring the first fleet of zero emission electric buses to South Yorkshire as part of a partnership between Stagecoach and SYMCA.
Electrification work costing about £2.5m has begun at the Rawmarsh depot ahead of the arrival of the first fleet of 23 zero emission electric buses to arrive in the region.
The brand-new electric Yutong buses will be introduced on the region’s bus network in the spring and will feature on the 22x and 221 routes which connect the Dearne Valley across Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster.
Stagecoach Yorkshire MD Matt Kitchin said: “This development marks a huge step towards the future of sustainable travel in South Yorkshire as we await the arrival of the new buses.
“Sustainable forms of public transport are key to reducing congestion and improving air quality across the region and we look forward to these state-of-the-art vehicles encouraging more people to make the switch to bus travel as well as making local air cleaner for all our futures.”
DfT contributed about £8,351,000 to which SYMCA added £2,683,000 of its City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.
Contractor EO will install the 23 output chargers as well as two mobile workshop chargers at the depot which will facilitate the running of the zero-emission fleet.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard, said: “We think around 200,000 people in South Yorkshire live in areas vulnerable to air pollution, and 1 in 20 deaths here are related to poor air quality. That’s a challenge we simply have to address, and why we need to get cleaner, greener vehicles of all sorts on our roads.
“To meet that goal we’ve funded electric bus projects that are underway across the region as part of the Zebra1 project and we also have a second bid for ‘Zebra 2’ funding submitted to the Department for Transport with Stagecoach and First.
“Not only will they help improve public transport in South Yorkshire, they’ll make a real contribution to us hitting our net zero goals, and making South Yorkshire’s air cleaner.“
