A major North Yorkshire bus firm has placed orders worth £21m to deliver an all-electric bus fleet next Spring.

The Harrogate Bus Company is buying 39 new buses and will equip it depot to covert all its buses to fully electric power.

The orders are supported by £7.8m of Government funding for government zero-emission vehicle funding, following a successful bid by parent company Transdev and North Yorkshire Council.

The new buses follow trials for several types of all-electric buses on routes in and around Harrogate, plus the Bradford to Keighley shuttle. Customer were asked about key design features and feedback will help with the specifications of the buses.

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The Harrogate Bus Company is buying 20 Mercedes-Benz E-Citaro dingle deck buses to be used on its urban route 1 between Harrogate and Knaresborough, route 7 linking Harrogate, Wetherby and Leeds, and rural route 24 between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge.

Also ordered are 19 Alexander Dennis Enviro 400EV fully electric double deck buses, to relaunch flagship route, The 36 linking Ripon, Harrogate and Leeds. These will be among the first of this new British-built design to enter service.

York Press: The E Citaro bus

Transdev Managing Director Henri Rohard says the moves are an important evolution in the quality and sustainability of the bus network, made possible by government funding.

“All our bus fleet will be renewed in the process, giving our Harrogate Bus Company the most modern and passenger oriented network,” he said.

“In combination with our existing eight Harrogate Electrics-branded Volvo 7900E electric buses, the first of their kind in Britain, 47 fully-electric vehicles are now expected to be in service in Spring 2024.

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Newer generation batteries also promises more time and distance between charge-ups and a more reliable service.

Roads Minister Richard Holden called it fantastic Transdev has ordered the 39 buses for its Harrogate fleet following the £8m the government gave Norh Yorkshire Council.

He added: “We’ve awarded £330 million of dedicated funding for zero emission buses in England excluding London, as we continue in our quest to decarbonise transport and reach net zero by 2050.”

York Press: Harrogate bus depot

North Yorkshire Council’s Executive Member for Highways and Transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said: “We are delighted to see that our successful bid for government funding is helping to transform bus travel in and around Harrogate.

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“We look forward to continuing to work with Transdev on this project. It’s great news for passengers and an important step towards achieving our climate aims.”

The Harrogate Bus Company will now work with teams from the two suppliers who will build its new fleet to ensure its in-house engineering teams have the training and upskilling needed to deliver the best performance from its all-electric bus transformation.