Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (United Kingdom) has paced an order at Alexander Dennis for 58 Enviro400EV zero-emission buses. The electric buses are expected to join the city region’s current fleet later this year. Their purchase is being supported by the second tranche of the Department for Transport’s Zero-Emission Bus Regional Areas fund (ZEBRA 2).
The new buses will be publicly owned by the Combined Authority, and will be operated by a commercial bus operator ahead of the introduction of franchising from 2026 onwards. Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Buses are the backbone of our public transport network. But for too long, our communities have been left with a second-class service that simply doesn’t work for them. That’s why we’re taking back control of our buses and putting the public back at the heart of public transport. Franchising will be the biggest shake-up to our bus network in decades." The Enviro400EV is part of Alexander Dennis’ next generation of zero-emission buses and according to Alexander Dennis an energy requirement of only 0.67kWh/km over the UK Bus Cycle alongside a
market-leading 97% grid-to-wheel charging efficiency. All 58 Enviro400EV for the Liverpool City Region will be built in Britain, supporting 1,900 UK skilled jobs and more than 60 apprenticeships at Alexander Dennis as well as further significant employment at the manufacturer’s 8,000 suppliers across the United Kingdom. Alexander Dennis President & Managing Director, Paul Davies, said: “Political leaders like Mayor Steve Rotheram deserve huge credit for the support they are providing to British bus manufacturers, recognising we are a key contributor to growing the UK economy, and we look forward to working with the other mayoral combined authorities in future to bolster the electric bus revolution.”