A NEW fleet of 170 electric double-decker buses is set to be put onto the region’s streets by National Express West Midlands.
The operator has now ordered 170 fully electric buses, which will be delivered by the end of next year.
The new fleet, being deployed across the West Midlands including Coventry and Solihull, is part of a £150million investment in 300 British-made zero-emission buses.
Additional investment will be made to enable the charging and maintenance of the fleet.
This follows an earlier order for 130 buses in Coventry as part of a £140million project to make the city the UK’s first all-electric bus city by 2025.
In 2020 National Express West Midlands launched an initial 29 fully electric buses into service on routes across Coventry, Birmingham and Solihull.
With 329 green buses in operation, it is expected almost 22,000tonnes of carbon will be saved from going into the atmosphere each year.
Tom Stables, CEO of National Express UK and Germany, said: “Replacing another 170 of our diesel buses with electric is a huge step for us delivering on our commitment to having a completely zero-emission bus fleet in the UK by 2030.
“These clean, green UK-built double-decker buses are popular with our customers.
“As a result, they are not only more economical to run but they will boost passenger growth by getting more people to ditch their cars for the bus and they do their bit to help tackle the climate and clean air emergency.”
