Redditch could be Britain’s first all-electric bus town

Last week the Government launched the scheme which will see the winning area receive £50 million to help pay for a brand-new fleet of electric buses, reducing emissions and cleaning up the air in their community.

The £50 million fund is part of a total of £170 million allocated to improve services and make bus journeys greener, easier and more reliable.

A town with 200 electric buses could save around 7,400 tonnes of CO2 each year, the equivalent to taking 3,700 diesel cars off the road.

Following the announcement Reddicth MP Rachel Maclean has written to the leader of Worcestershire County Council, Simon Geraghty, to encourage him to submit a bid to make Redditch Britain’s first all-electric bus town.

The MP also raised it in the House of Commons with Prime Minister Boris Johnson

In the Chamber, Mrs Maclean said: “Does the Prime Minister agree with me that because my constituents have the highest rate of going to work by bus in Worcestershire, Redditch is the perfect candidate for Britain’s first all-electric bus town?”

In response the Prime Minister said: “What a brilliant idea!”

More people in Redditch travel to work by bus than any other constituency in Worcestershire, according to the Office for National Statistics.

As well as that, Redditch also has the highest rate of non-car ownership out of any town in Worcestershire.

According to the last census, nearly 20 per cent of households in Redditch did not own a car.

Claire Davies, campaigner and coordinator for Bromsgrove and Redditch Green Party, said the bus service is in dire need of investment.

"New, reliable, electric buses would certainly make bus travel in the area more pleasant and feasible and would help to reduce the levels of air pollution," she said.

"However, I feel that if we are to convince people to leave their cars at home, we need to be focussing on a massive expansion of the bus network. One that works for people in all areas of Redditch and surrounding areas, with a frequency that means that people can get to places they need to (and back) within a reasonable amount of time.

"If we had the most amazing electric buses, without the expansion in network, I fear that they would simply be an attempt to make it look as if we are addressing the climate crisis, but actually making very little impact."