UK – Surrey County Council approved £16.4M to buy 34 hydrogen fuel cell buses.
East Surrey is expected to benefit from cleaner air when it gets buses powered by hydrogen on its roads next year.
Surrey County Council approved £16.4million last week to buy 34 hydrogen fuel cell buses, which will be leased to Metrobus and run in Horley, Redhill, Reigate and Epsom.
Matt Furniss, cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, said the buses will come into service in the first half of 2023.
They are part of the council’s £32.3m plans agreed in 2020 for between 70 and 80 ultra-low or zero emission buses, with electric buses planned to run in the west.
Metrobus has already placed an order for another 20 hydrogen buses – with a £10m investment made by the bus operator, the UK Government and the EU Jive 2 project – so there will be 54 in total.
It will then put its existing low emission fleet on other routes covering Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge.
Almost half (46 per cent) of all Surrey’s carbon emissions are transport-related so this is a significant step towards the county council’s aim to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.
Marisa Heath, environment cabinet member said in the cabinet meeting:
This is positive, it’s good news.
“Obviously my delivery plan is not going to go too far unless we get the transport element solved and this is another element adding towards that.”
She said it was sensible to diversify and have these as well as the electric buses, which are planned for west of the county because hydrogen is usually able to achieve longer distances.
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
The new buses Surrey County Council will spend millions on for cleaner air around East Surrey, February 28, 2022
