Government announces £129m in second road of ZEBRA bus funding
Fri 08 September 2023
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The Government has announced a second round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas programme (ZEBRA2) in England. The Government says the competition will provide £129 million to support the introduction of zero emission buses (ZEBs) in financial years 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025.
The Government has published guidance for local transport authorities on how to apply including: funding eligibility, application timescale and the assessment process.
Route One reports that of that money, the first £25 million will be prioritised for rural communities. Bids will again be led by local transport authorities (LTAs), but only those that have made an Enhanced Partnership or have begun the statutory process to decide whether to introduce franchising will be eligible to apply.
ZEBRA2 is designed to enable the Government to deliver on its promise to part-fund 4,000 zero-emission buses by the end of this Parliament.
ZEBRA2 will fund up to 75% of the incremental price of a zero-emission bus over a diesel equivalent, and up to 75% of total infrastructure capital expenditure. There is no minimum or maximum bid size. Zero-emission coaches are specifically ruled out of eligibility, but zero-emission, accessible minibuses used on local services are within scope.
The deadline for submissions is 15 December.
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