Half a billion-pound investment in electric buses
Plymouth, the Isle of Wight and Gloucestershire are to benefit from a £500 million investment by bus operator Go Ahead to decarbonise its fleet.
Up to 500 UK manufacturing jobs are set to be supported as the bus operator announces it will build a new dedicated manufacturing line and partnership with Northern Ireland-based bus manufacturer Wrightbus.
The investment is set to fund the manufacturing of up to 1,200 new zero emission buses over the next three years. Built for operator Go Ahead, this investment will accelerate the transition to greener buses across the country.
On top of directly supporting 500 manufacturing jobs, the £500 million investment for Wrightbus will also support an additional 2,000 jobs across the wider UK supply chain by 2026.
The Transport Secretary will also announce plans to create a new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. This panel will bring together industry experts and local leaders to explore ways to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing, help local authorities deliver on their transport ambitions, and begin to seize opportunities to embrace zero emission transport technologies.
The Transport Secretary is expected to meet with key industry leaders, including Wrightbus owner Jo Bamford and CEO Jean-Marc Gales, to reaffirm the government’s commitment to decarbonising local transport and fostering an environment for investment in the UK manufacturing industry.
The announcement comes ahead of the International Investment Summit on October 14, which will gather UK leaders, investors and businesses from across the world to discuss how the country can deepen our partnership to drive investment and growth.
The Transport Secretary is expected to hold several bilateral meetings at the summit with international business leaders and make clear the UK is “open for business” so that she can help attract further investment to support the delivery of our transport priorities across the country.
Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh said: "The number one mission of this government is growing the economy. The half a billion pounds Go Ahead is announcing shows the confidence industry has in investing in the UK."
For every vehicle manufactured, 10 trees will be planted by Go-Ahead and Wrightbus in the towns and cities where the buses are deployed.
Go-Ahead Bus CEO, Matt Carney said: "This multi-million pound investment and partnership with Wrightbus will accelerate the transition to zero-emission fleet across the UK."
Wrightbus CEO, Jean-Marc Gales said: "The deal with Go-Ahead is hugely significant and represents a huge boost to the UK’s economy. It will support homegrown manufacturing, jobs and skills for the next three years and beyond. We’ve always been proud to support the UK’s supply chain and our Go-Ahead partnership will ensure even more money can be spent securing good green jobs.
"We must also not forget that this deal represents a massive step forward in our ambition to help decarbonise the transport sector with our world-leading products. It was heartening today to hear the government reaffirm its commitment to a green transport sector."