Plans for hydrogen and electric buses on four Derby and Derbyshire routes
Four bus routes in Derby and Derbyshire could soon be a lot greener with plans to change two of them from diesel to hydrogen and the other two in the city to electric power. A bid has been submitted to the Government for funding from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme (ZEBRA 2). Derby City Council[1] is working with bus company partners[2] trentbarton and Arriva.
The scheme proposed by trentbarton includes buying hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to replace the diesel bus fleet on two services:
- the sixes between Derby, Belper, Ripley and Bakewell
- the Skylink, including Skylink Derby, Skylink Nottingham and Skylink express
The scheme would also include infrastructure to produce and store hydrogen at trentbarton’s depot in Derby city centre. Hydrogen buses have been introduced in Aberdeen, Birmingham, London, Belfast, and Dublin. The buses are as efficient as electric equivalents, with refuelling taking less than 10 minutes.
POLL: Do you ride a bike in Derby?[3] Tom Morgan, managing director of trentbarton said: “This bid marks significant investment in buses within the East Midlands and most specifically in Derby City. If granted, this bid will deliver a consistent long-term demand for hydrogen in the area, which we expect will be the key to unlocking further growth in this future fuel, accelerating our decarbonisation strategy, with buses at the heart of it, and resulting in cleaner air for everyone.”
Arriva’s scheme proposes to replace diesel buses with electric vehicles on two routes to Alvaston and Sinfin as well as infrastructure for charging the vehicles at the Arriva depot on Ascot Drive in Derby. Each new bus[4] won’t give off any exhaust fumes, helping to improve air quality across the city. Phil Cummins, engineering director for Arriva said: “It is our ambition as a business to make sustainable bus transport the best option for people and we are excited to be working together to pitch for Government funding, which has the potential to bring electric vehicles to Derby.”
Councillor Carmel Swan, city council cabinet member for climate change, transport and sustainability[5] said: “Good air quality is hugely important to everyone and the council recognises that zero-emission buses can make a significant contribution to meeting our climate goals.
We must also cut air pollution, reduce noise and provide more frequent, reliable bus services.”
References
- ^ Derby City Council (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ bus company partners (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Do you ride a bike in Derby? (xd.wayin.com)
- ^ new bus (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ transport and sustainability (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)