Transport Decarbonisation Plan

Progress report two years on | June 2023

We will deliver a world class cycling and walking network in England by 2040

We will deliver comprehensive cycling and walking networks in all large towns and cities and widespread delivery of measures to enable cycling and walking in local areas such as school streets and cycle training delivered to all children and adults that want it.

We will enable behaviour change through targeted personal incentives, such as GP prescribing, existing tax relief and regards programmes.

The following additional budgets were allocated to boroughs specifically for cycle training to supplement with own allocations from 2017/18 onwards.

Cycle training for children and families has received a record investment as the Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed £20 million of funding for Bikeability to deliver its cycle training programme next year. (March 2022)

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that £69m per year will now go to boroughs to help them deliver even more School Streets.

This enables your company to provide cycles and or associated safety equipment to yourself and your employees effectively tax-free.

4.3 Transport Decarbonisation Plan: Buses and coaches

We will deliver the National Bus Strategy’s vision of a transformed bus industry and a green bus revolution

Bus services should be better integrated with other modes of transport – with more bus routes serving railway stations and improved integration with cycling and walking routes and networks – and provides a roadmap to decarbonise.

The Department for Transport has launched Bus Back Better: national bus strategy for England, outlining improvements to bus services across England. The strategy underlines the need to be better integrated with other modes –more bus routes serving railway stations, as is standard in most European countries, and integrating with cycling and walking routes and networks.

We will consult on modernising the Bus Service Operators’ Grant in 2021

To ensure that the funding stream is aligned with government priorities, in particular, benefitting the environment.

We plan to increase the rate at which the BSOG green incentive can be claimed for zero emission buses to 22p per km.

The government will analyse how it supports the bus industry beyond the end of the Bus Recovery Grant (BRG) in England on 30 June 2023, Under-Secretary of State for Transport Baroness Vere told the House of Lords last Thursday.

Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) in England can be claimed against zero emission buses (ZEBs) at 22p per kilometre from 1 April, the government has announced. It represents a step towards promised wider overhaul of BSOG. (2022)

We will support delivery of 4,000 new zero emission buses and the infrastructure needed to support them

We will consider both battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses when rolling out the 4,000 zero emission buses.

2021-22 we will invest up to £120 million in zero emission buses through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme. This is in addition to £50 million provided through the All-Electric Bus Town or City scheme.

Funding announced April 2022 of £200 million for almost 1,000 new electric or hydrogen buses, bringing the total funded in England under this government to 2,000.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps (30 March 2021) launched a multimillion-pound scheme to enable local transport authorities to roll out zero emission buses as the government continues to build back greener. Up to £120 million is being made available through the Zero Emission Buses Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme.

We will deliver the first All-Electric Bus Town or City

The West Midlands Combined Authority has been awarded £50 million to replace the entire local operator bus fleet in Coventry with electric buses.

National Express West Midlands is investing £150 million in 300 UKmade electric zero emission buses, for delivery by the end of December 2024. The buses will be deployed across the West Midlands.

We are consulting on a phase out date for the sale of new non-zero emission buses

An initial consultation closed on 11 April 2021 and there will be a further consultation later this year.

The consultation has now been launched on an end to the sale of all combustion-engined buses and minibuses, with the aim for that to happen at some point between 2025 and 2032. The consultation doesn’t commit the government to action, but it is a required step before it can pass laws that would ban the sale of non-zero emission buses.

We will consult on a phase out date for the sale of new non-zero emission coaches

We want to understand the barriers the sector faces as well as the opportunities.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is seeking feedback on proposals to progress ending the sale of new non-zero emission buses, coaches and minibuses.

Ran from 26 March to 21 May 2022.