Driving more zero-emissions bus networks in the UK is being undertaken by both the government and the private sector.

Near the end of March, the government announced that 955 zero-emission buses will hit the road as 25 councils receive funding to decarbonise their bus fleets, with rural areas prioritised as part of the government’s plan to improve local transport.

Then at the beginning of April, a partnership was announced comprising the UK Infrastructure Bank, Rock Rail and Aviva (through its in-house capital unit Aviva Capital Partners) that will provide a new funding platform for zero-emission bus financier ‘Rock Road’. This partnership, alongside a debt facility from UK Infrastructure Bank and HSBC UK, is committing an initial £100m to fund up to 250 zero-emission buses and associated infrastructure.

£143 million for better bus journeys

It is envisioned that millions of bus passengers will enjoy cleaner, more reliable and more comfortable journeys as the government invests a further £143 million, from the second funding round of the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) programme, to roll out almost a thousand new zero-emission buses in England.

During the first round of ZEBRA funding, over £270 million was invested in 16 local transport authorities (LTAs) and councils. This brings the total to £413 million across 41 LTAs to support the rollout of zero-emission buses.
£40 million has been prioritised for rural areas to ensure more passengers benefit from better buses and green technology.

Alison Edwards, Director of Policy and External Relations at the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), said: “CPT welcomes this support from government to help accelerate vital public and private investment in new zero emissions vehicles and charging infrastructure.

“The transition to a zero emission bus fleet is a huge opportunity for Britain to lead the world in creating a modern zero emission bus network that offers a growing number of passengers one of the most sustainable forms of transport.
“The new zero emission buses will not only be cleaner, helping improve local air quality both for bus users and local communities, but they will also be more modern and replace older diesel buses.”

As more than half of electric buses from the first round of the ZEBRA scheme are manufactured in the UK, introducing up to 955 new electric buses will continue to help support skilled UK jobs and grow the economy.

‘Rock Road’ the funding platform

Rock Road is offering a finance solution for UK bus operators and public transport authorities to decarbonise their fleet while minimising capital outlay and outsourcing key ownership risks around residual value and battery replacement.

It is envisioned that this platform will establish a scalable funding model to accelerate fleet decarbonisation through private capital which will in turn reduce the reliance on public money to fuel the transition.

The first deal to fund 60 battery-electric buses operating within London has been signed with the buses being leased to The Go-Ahead Group.

Support bus franchising

The Rock Road platform, owned by Rock Rail and Aviva, brings together organisations with extensive experience and a strong alignment of investment principles.

Rock Rail in its partnership with Aviva is utilising its experience in the rail sector to deploy a proven funding model that attracts long-term institutional capital and is well-placed to support the introduction of bus franchising. Aviva’s participation is essential to the development of Rock Road in the near term and the mobilisation of further private capital in the future.

Mark Swindell, CEO of Rock Rail, said: “Rock Rail is delighted to be working with Aviva, the UK Infrastructure Bank and HSBC UK to invest in the decarbonisation of bus networks across the UK while supporting passenger transport authorities and bus operators to radically transform the regularity, punctuality and reliability of bus services.
“Since entering the UK rolling stock market in 2016, Rock has delivered over £3.5bn of investment in new trains and we see a similar scale of opportunity in the zero-emission bus market.”