North East Lincolnshire Council continues to strive to create a greener, cleaner borough following the submission of a revolutionary bid to the Department for Transport to become one of the first all-electric bus towns in the UK.
If successful, the funding would enable the replacement of the core bus network, operated by Stagecoach East Midlands, with electric buses throughout North East Lincolnshire.
Councillor Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for environment and transport at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “North East Lincolnshire is leading the way with its growing renewable hub and cleaner energy ambitions.
“The success of this bid will be key to supporting our ambition of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Road traffic is the main source of air pollution in North East Lincolnshire and moving to an electric bus fleet will address this and substantially reduce the amount of air pollution created on our roads.
“Our expression of interest for this funding clearly demonstrates our commitment and ambition to becoming a cleaner and greener area.”
The bid is being developed and overseen by officers at ENGIE as part of the North East Lincolnshire Regeneration Partnership and supported by the area’s major bus operator, Stagecoach East Midlands.
The announcement of successful expression of interest applications is expected in August 2020. If successful, a full business case would need to be submitted by February 2021, with the funding award announcement in April 2021.
Article from NELC.
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