Gas buses ‘offer better value than electric’

Gas buses in the UK are already offering better value for taxpayers than their electric counterparts. That’s according to the latest figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT), which […]

Gas buses in the UK are already offering better value for taxpayers than their electric counterparts.

That’s according to the latest figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT), which illustrate how the latest round of funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) was distributed.

The funding saw six local authority-led projects receive a total of £11 million to support the deployment of clean, low emission buses in their local areas.

Five of these schemes were for electric buses, with an average taxpayer subsidy of more than £130,000 per bus.

However, the bid for 110 buses running on biomethane from four councils in the Bristol area cost only £28,000 for each vehicle.

A previous round of funding for buses in Nottingham and Reading saw subsidies of £142,000 per electric vehicle compared to just under £43,000 for those running on biomethane.

Mike Foster, CEO of the Natural Gas Vehicle Network (NGVN), said: “In some cases, forward thinking councils are already entering into partnerships with waste processers who are producing decarbonised gas from household and commercial waste which can then be used to fuel low carbon buses.

“Gas buses are delivering results and good value for the taxpayer so I’m sure we’ll see many more bids like this from local authorities and bus companies in the near future.”

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