Work to bring first electric buses to South Yorkshire begins

Electrification work 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.

The project is part of South Yorkshire’s first successful bid for Zero Emission Bus Regional Area funding (ZEBRA) from the Department for Transport (DfT) in partnership with South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and Stagecoach.

DfT contributed £8,351,721 as part of our winning ZEBRA bid and SYMCA also contributed £2,683,051 of their City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) provided by Government.

The infrastructure needed to charge and maintain the electric buses also reflects a major £2.5 million investment in the Rawmarsh depot based in Rotherham.

The 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. “

Stagecoach Yorkshire Managing Director Matt Kitchin commented that the work at Rawmarsh “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.”

The buses will feature a bespoke livery and will be fitted with full electric air conditioning and a bespoke premium passenger saloon for enhanced passenger comfort.

A total of 27 electric buses will be rolled out across South Yorkshire as part of the first stage of ZEBRA, including a further four electric buses in Sheffield.