Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which local transport authorities (a) applied for and (b) were successful in applying for funding from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme.

We are committed to supporting the introduction of 4,000 zero emission buses and achieving an all zero-emission bus fleet across the entire UK. Across the UK, an estimated 3,400 zero emission buses have been funded since February 2020. The ZEBRA scheme will support an estimated 1,342 zero emission buses.

The following local transport authorities have received funding through the ZEBRA scheme:

• Blackpool Council
• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority
• City of York Council
• Hertfordshire County Council
• Kent County Council
• Leicester City Council
• Norfolk County Council
• North Yorkshire County Council
• Nottingham City Council
• Oxfordshire County Council
• Portsmouth City Council and Hampshire County Council
• South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
• Transport for Greater Manchester
• Warrington Borough Council
• West Midlands Combined Authority
• West Yorkshire Combined Authority

In October 2021 the Government announced that Milton Keynes Council had been awarded funding from the ZEBRA scheme to introduce 56 electric buses and charging infrastructure. The buses were due to be operated by bus operator Arriva. In November 2022 Arriva informed Milton Keynes Council that they could no longer support the existing ZEBRA proposal. Arriva and Milton Keynes Council then worked to develop revised proposals for the Department to consider. After the reviewing the revised proposals ministers decided not to provide funding to Milton Keynes Council for the project.

The following local transport authorities applied to the ZEBRA scheme but did not receive funding:

• Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
• Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council
• East Sussex County Council and Brighton & Hove City Council
• Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
• Luton Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council
• Reading Borough Council
• Southampton City Council
• Swindon Borough Council
• Tees Valley Combined Authority
• Torbay Council
• Transport North East
• Warrington Borough Council
• West Sussex County Council & Surrey County Council
• Worcestershire County Council