The Liverpool City Region has ordered 58 next-generation Enviro400EV zero-emission buses
Next-generation Enviro400EV zero-emission buses(Image: Alexander Dennis)
Funding for a new fleet of buses for the Liverpool City Region was announced as Chancellor Rachel Reeves made a speech outlining her plans for public transport spending today. Ms Reeves delivered the speech in Rochdale this morning, in which she said the Labour government would invest £15.6bn in public transport projects, largely across the Midlands and North of England.
Within this, the Liverpool City Region's five-year-settlement allocation from 2027/28 to 2031/32 will represent a total of £1.6bn. The Chancellor said this will include "the largest ever investment" in our region's stations as she cited the construction of three new Merseyrail stops - a key part of Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram's successful 2024 re-election manifesto.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivers a speech during a visit to Mellor Bus in Rochdale, Greater Manchester
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivers a speech during a visit to Mellor Bus in Rochdale, Greater Manchester
It will also involve £100m funding for three rapid transport routes in Liverpool. A major pledge in Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram's successful election manifesto last May, the rapid transit system - similar to the Glider system in Belfast - will travel from the city centre to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, to Anfield Stadium, and to Everton's new ground, Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Also included in the package is money to buy a new fleet of buses for the Liverpool City Region's soon-to-be franchised bus network. As part of this process, the newly purchased fleet will begin running in St Helens and the Wirral in 2026, followed by Sefton, Knowsley, and North and South Liverpool in 2027.
Ms Reeves said: "Investment in the Liverpool City Region, backing the mayor Steve Rotheram to deliver three new rapid bus routes, linking up the city centre, John Lennon Airport, Anfield, the new Everton stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock and new homes built on the Central Docks redevelopment alongside the largest ever investment in Merseyside railway stations to serve Halton (Cheshire), St Helens and Woodchurch."
Following the news today, the City Region Combined Authority said: "The region will also move forward with a commitment to deliver a new Rapid Transit network, offering fast, modern, and reliable services between Liverpool city centre, John Lennon Airport, and key locations in North Liverpool. Inspired by successful models like the Belfast Glider, this system will support wider regeneration, linking existing communities with opportunity and improving access to major destinations including Bramley-Moore Dock.
"This is part of a broader programme to transform the region’s bus network, supporting the introduction of a zero-emission fleet, new depot infrastructure, and the rollout of franchising - returning buses to public control for the first time in nearly 40 years." Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “This is a really big win for our area and for the 1.6m people who call it home.
"It means new train stations where they’re needed most, better buses that actually turn up, and a new rapid transit system to help people get where they need to be - whether that’s for work, education, socialising or care. For too long, too many of our communities have had to put up with second-rate services.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, onboard the Glider Future Rapid Transit Bus, on display at Anfield
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, onboard the Glider Future Rapid Transit Bus, on display at Anfield
"This is our chance to put that right. With buses coming back under public control for the first time in a generation, this funding gives us the tools to shape a transport system that puts people first.
"And while the headline projects are important, the real value lies in the flexibility it gives us to keep investing in the infrastructure our communities need now and into the future.”
What does this mean for the city region's buses?
In 2023, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority formally adopted a franchising model that will give it the power to set fares and routes across the six council boroughs - Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, St Helens, Knowsley and Halton - that make up the region. The buses will be publicly owned and will have the Combined Authority's branding but will be run by commercial operators, such as Arriva and Stagecoach.
The first phase will begin in St Helens in 2026, followed by Wirral, before rolling out across six boroughs by the end of 2027. However, preparing and introducing the new fleet of buses for this process has not gone entirely smoothly.
More than 100 zero-emission double-decker electric buses have been successfully secured for the fleet, with 58 ordered from manufacturer Alexander Dennis earlier this year, but questions remain about hydrogen buses bought by the Combined Authority. The first journey for a new fleet of state-of-the-art, publicly owned, zero-emission hydrogen buses took place on May 15 2023.
20 of the strikingly yellow vehicles were bought, primarily to run on the busy 10a route between St Helens and Liverpool city centre. The hydrogen buses have been beset by problems since that point, spending large portions of time entirely off the road.
The buses were bought in 2022 for a total of £10m, with money secured from the government's Transforming Cities Fund, which was aimed at improving productivity by investing in public and sustainable transport infrastructure in English cities.
Last November, when asked about the hydrogen buses, a Combined Authority spokesperson said: "More than 80% of public transport journeys in the city region are taken by bus. They are the backbone of the Liverpool City Region transport network and key to Mayor Rotheram’s vision of an integrated London-style transport network and the hydrogen buses are supplementary to the electric fleet the Combined Authority is purchasing as it takes back public control of the public transport system.
"Work is ongoing to decarbonise the region’s bus network, and the purchase of more than 100 new fully-electric buses – announced earlier this year – will help deliver on this ambition, with further procurement to be announced shortly. Once operational we expect that the hydrogen vehicles will also form part of the region’s zero-emission bus fleet."