Key Milestone Reached - 50% Network is Electric - July 2024
We are very pleased to report that 50% of the Leicester Buses network is now electric, with 134 electric buses in total. This includes investment of £22.5m by First Bus, who have a fully electric depot with 68 single deckers and 18 double deckers. Arriva have invested £7.7m in their 24 electric deckers and the city council has invested £1.33m in converting the 6 electric buses on Orbital. These are all ZEBRA funded projects, which the DfT has provided a combined grant funding of £22m for. The remaining Greenlines fleet (Hospital Hopper, Park & Ride and Hop!) are all funded through the Transforming Cities Fund totalling grant funding of £7.09m.
Bus Service Improvement Plan 2024 - BSIP24 - June 2024
In line with the National Bus Strategy and DfT’s guidance we have updated and refreshed our previous Bus Service Improvement Plan that was produced in 2021. The new BSIP24 Plan updates our baseline to 2023/24 and set out our plans for the period 2025 to 2036 subject to funding. Our key aim remains to make bus travel electric, frequent, reliable, easy and great value.
New Electric double-decker buses being introduced by Arriva - April 2024
In a major first for Leicester, Arriva has announced that it will be bringing 24 brand new electric double decker buses to the city.
The state of the art, zero emission, British built ‘Streetdeck Electroliner’ buses will be introduced to the streets of Leicester from December 2023 and will be the city’s first electric double deckers as well as being Arriva’s first electric double deckers outside of London.
This landmark moment for the city’s transport network has been made possible thanks to the ongoing partnership between Arriva UK Bus and Leicester City Council through a successful joint bid to the Government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, to unlock the £11m worth of green investment required to purchase new buses.
This further investment from Arriva comes on top of the £9m addition of 36 new ultra-low emission Euro VI buses arriving into Arriva Leicester’s fleet this Christmas.
Together this £20m investment represents a significant step in Arriva’s commitment to developing and decarbonising its fleet in Leicester and builds on the millions of pounds the operator has already invested in upgrading its entire Leicester fleet to the latest Euro VI ultra-low emissions standards.
New Electric double-decker buses being introduced by First Leicester - April 2024
First Bus has secured further funding for 18 double decker buses, which are expected to be in service by Spring 2024. The completion for this project will make the First Leicester depot one of the first fully electric depots in the UK outside of London. Leicester Electric | First Bus.