The deadline for local authorities to express and interest in bidding for funding to become the nation’s leader in environmentally friendly public transport has been extended to early June.
£50 million of Department for Transport funding is up for grabs to help the winning bidder pay for a brand-new fleet of electric buses, reducing emissions and cleaning up the air in their community.
The aim is to create Britain’s first all-electric bus town, which would act as the gold standard for other communities to follow.
The government estimates that a town 200 electric buses could save around 7,400 tonnes of CO2 each year, the equivalent to taking 3,700 diesel cars off the road.
Now the deadline for the first phase of the application process has been pushed back to 4 June.
The £50 million fund is part of a total £170 million allocated earlier this year to improve services and make bus journeys greener, easier and more reliable. This commitment marks the next step in delivering the government’s £220 million package to overhaul bus services across England and level up transport infrastructure.
