More than £12m in funding has been delivered by the Department for Transport (DfT) to promote greener buses, local transport minister Norman Baker has announced.
The cash pot for 213 new low carbon buses aims to deliver better services for passengers, while also cutting carbon and delivering economic growth, according to the DfT.
The Green Bus Fund now stretches across four rounds, worth £87m, and has delivered more than 1200 new low carbon buses in England - saving around 28,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
The government is paying up to half the cost difference between low carbon diesel-hybrid and biomethane gas buses and their standard diesel equivalent.
Five bus manufacturers will benefit from orders for their eco-friendly hybrid, electric and gas buses, with many of the buses assembled in the UK.
The winners, who will add 83 single-decker and 130 double-decker buses to their fleets, are spread across England and include Stagecoach and First Group.
The local councils involved in the initiative include the City of York, Greater Manchester, Nottingham City and Transport for London.
Local Transport Minister Norman Baker said: 'Buses are an essential part of people’s day-to-day lives up and down the country and are a key tool for enabling economic growth. At the same time, we want this growth to be green, which is why we are investing in these brand new low carbon buses.
'The last 3 rounds of the Green Bus Fund have shown that bus operators and local authorities are keen to invest in environmentally friendly technology, and it is encouraging to see this strong interest in ultra low emission vehicles continuing through the fourth round of the fund.'
'I’m glad these new technologies are breaking through into the mainstream. This further strengthens the case for operators in the UK to invest in ultra low emission technologies and achieve a step change in cutting carbon.'
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