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| Zero Emission Bus in Oxford - Photo by Go-Ahead Group |
A bus operating company named Go-Ahead London has announced a £500 million investment for 1,200 new zero-emission buses manufactured by Wrightbus.
Fom UK Department for Transport
• £500 million investment announced to deliver 1,200 UK-made zero emission buses, ensuring greener and better journeys for passengers
• bus operator Go Ahead’s investment to benefit communities across the country, supporting hundreds of jobs and delivering growth
• Transport Secretary brings together industry to advance opportunities for investment in the UK ahead of investment summit
Up to 500 UK manufacturing jobs are set to be supported as bus operator Go Ahead today (8 October 2024) announces a major £500 million investment to decarbonise its fleet, including creating a new dedicated manufacturing line and partnership with Northern Ireland-based bus manufacturer Wrightbus.
The investment is set to fund the manufacturing of up to 1,200 new zero emission buses over the next 3 years. Built for operator Go Ahead, this investment will accelerate the transition to greener buses across the country including in Plymouth, Gloucestershire, East Yorkshire, London and the Isle of Wight.
On top of directly supporting 500 manufacturing jobs, the £500 million investment for Wrightbus will also support an additional 2,000 jobs across the wider UK supply chain by 2026, helping to get us back on track for growth.
The Transport Secretary will also announce plans to create a new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. This panel will bring together industry experts and local leaders to explore ways to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing, help local authorities deliver on their transport ambitions, and begin to seize opportunities to embrace zero emission transport technologies.
The Transport Secretary is expected to meet with key industry leaders today including Wrightbus owner Jo Bamford and CEO Jean-Marc Gales, to reaffirm the government’s commitment to decarbonising local transport and fostering an environment for investment in the UK manufacturing industry, bringing sustained economic growth and supporting jobs.
The announcement comes ahead of the International Investment Summit, which will gather UK leaders, high-profile investors and businesses from across the world to discuss how we can deepen our partnership to drive investment and growth.
The Transport Secretary is expected to hold several bilateral meetings at the summit with international business leaders and make clear the UK is “open for business” so that she can help attract further investment to support the delivery of our transport priorities across the country.
The Prime Minister will also convene the first Council of Nations and Regions later this week, bringing together first ministers, Northern Ireland’s First Minister and Deputy First Minister and regional mayors from across England, as the government forges new partnerships, resets relationships to secure long term investment with the aim of boosting growth and living standards in every part of the UK.
Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh said:
"The number one mission of this government is growing the economy. The half a billion pounds Go Ahead is announcing today shows the confidence industry has in investing in the UK."
"This announcement will see communities across the country benefit from brand new, state-of-the-art green buses - which will deliver cleaner air and better journeys."
"We’re creating the right conditions for businesses to flourish, so we can support jobs and accelerate towards decarbonising the transport sector."
"Under this government, Britain is open for business."
For every vehicle manufactured, 10 trees will be planted by Go-Ahead and Wrightbus in the towns and cities where the buses are deployed.
Read more
From Wrightbus
Wrightbus signs landmark deal with Go-Ahead
Wrightbus signs largest deal in its history to build more than 1,000 buses worth up to half a billion pounds
Wrightbus has signed a landmark deal worth up to half-a-billion pounds to supply more than 1,000 buses to operators Go-Ahead over the next three years.
The deal, which is the largest in its 78-year history, will see hundreds of Go-Ahead buses built a year for the next three years at its Ballymena headquarters – safeguarding 500 good green jobs and creating multiple training and upskilling opportunities.
The deal not only secures jobs at Wrightbus but will support an additional 1,500 across the UK supply chain.
More than 5,500 jobs in the supply chain are already supported by the phenomenal growth of Wrightbus, which has worked with over 1,000 suppliers across the UK since 2019.
A training and apprenticeships fund has been established as part of the partnership, which will see the development of a learning academy for Go-Ahead and Wrightbus employees, that will also see placements made available for students with Special Educational Needs and young people not in training or education.
And because more than 90% of the order will be zero-emission, it also represents a huge boost to the UK’s net zero goals and the Government’s Decarbonisation Transport Plan, which is committed to supplying 4,000 new zero-emission buses in the UK.
Read more
Go-Ahead Group has also published their press release on the newsroom of their website.
Congratulations to Wrightbus on the huge order, as it will help boost jobs and their supply chain.
This is also the first huge order of new buses since Transport for London (TfL) made the order with Wrightbus for 1,000 hybrid New Routemasters since 2012.
I expect to see the new zero-emission buses ordered by Go-Ahead to include high-specification features including high-backed seats, USB charging ports, sunroof at the top deck, etc. to attract people to travel by bus.
I do have suggestions for a new bus type to improve accessibility for bus services in the UK and beyond. Further details of my suggestions are at the end of this article.
I invite you to follow me on X by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my X page here. I'm also on BlueSky and Mastodon.
Further reading
My Suggestions To Help Create The Most Accessible Zero-Emission Bus For London And Elsewhere!
Making A Case For New Rapid Transit Lines (Including New Tram Lines) By Increasing Bus Priority Measures
Why is Creativity in Public Transport Important, Including Bus Route Planning and Branding?
