Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been allocated to support the purchase of the 4,000 zero emission buses announced in the Bus Back Better Strategy.

We have announced £525 million to support delivery of zero emission buses (ZEBs) over this Parliament.

The Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 announced £355 million of new funding for ZEBs: £150 million of this for 2021-22. The Department intends to allocate this to the Zero Emission Bus Region Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, taking the total funding available for the scheme to £270 million this financial year. The Department will provide details on how the remaining £205 million of new funding will be used in due course.

The Department has also provided £50 million funding for the Coventry All Electric Bus City.

Funding from other funding schemes, such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS), can also be used by local areas to support the introduction of ZEBs.

To further encourage the take up of ZEBs, we will increase the Bus Service Operators Grant rate that ZEBs can claim to 22p per km and will set a legal end date for the sale of new diesel buses.