Surrey County Council has unveiled it's new pioneering fleet of hydrogen buses today. The 34 hydrogen fuel cell buses come as part of a £16.4 million investment by Surrey County Council (SCC) to improve travel for residents in the county, whilst reducing carbon emissions.
SCC, in partnership with the Go-Ahead Group, one of Britains, are working together to help deliver the Council's ambition to become a net zero county by 2050, to improve public transport and to encourage more people to use the bus rather than the car. These new British-built buses will mean that Surrey has one of the largest hydrogen bus fleets in the country, 54 in total, offering residents cleaner, greener bus travel.
The single-decker GB Kite Hydroliner buses emit zero-emissions and are able to cover long ranges, making them ideal for local routes in Surrey. Manufactured by Wrightbus, the buses are the first hydrogen powered vehicles in Go-Ahead’s fleet of more than 6,000 buses. The hydrogen fuel will be stored at the Metrobus Crawley depot in liquid form, before being converted to gas held in tanks on the roof of vehicles.
The liquid hydrogen refuelling station in Crawley is owned and operated by Air Products. Once it reaches full capacity it will be the largest of its kind in Europe and will be capable of providing the equivalent of fuel for over 100 buses per day.
Moving to hydrogen buses will deliver a carbon saving of over 5 million kg per annum. In addition, SCC is investing in bus priority measures to make sure buses turn up on time, providing more real time passenger information for users to plan journeys, and delivering more on-demand bus services.
Commenting, Cllr Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for for Transport, Infrastructure and Growth, said:
“I am delighted that Surrey County Council and Metrobus continue to work together to help deliver our ambition to become a net zero county by 2050, to improve public transport and to encourage more people to use buses in Surrey.
"Surrey County Council has invested £16.4m to roll out 34 of 54 hydrogen fuel cell buses across the county – creating one of Britain’s largest hydrogen bus fleets and offering our residents cleaner, greener bus travel.
"We’re also investing in bus priority measures to make sure buses turn up on time, more real time passenger information for users to plan journeys and providing more on-demand bus services.”
Pictured, the launch event with local stakeholders, Cllr Matt Furniss and Richard Holden MP, Minister for Roads and Local Transport
