Accelerating the roll-out of zero-emission buses

Charlotte Robinson looks at what the Bus Services Bill proposes

The Bus Services (No.2) Bill [HL], also known as the “Better Buses Bill”, is currently making its way through Parliament.

Among various other impacts (see Burges Salmon’s overview of the Bill here), the Bill proposes introducing a ban on the use of new non-zero emission buses on registered local bus services, with potential sanctions for bus operators who fail to comply (such as financial penalties or orders requiring the operator to spend money on specified local services or facilities).

The ban is not proposed to come into effect at the time that the Bill comes into force (assuming it is approved), but would need to be enacted by the Secretary of State passing additional implementing regulations specifying:

• what is a “new” bus for these purposes by setting a cut-off date, with buses vehicles registered after this date being subject to the ban – the Bill states that this date cannot be before 1 January 2030
• further guidance in relation to determining a zero-emission bus for these purposes, based on tailpipe emissions
• any specific vehicles and/or local services which the ban will not apply to.

This power only extends to bus services in England, and outside of Greater London. Within London, TfL has its own ambitious targets aimed at making its entire bus fleet zero-emission by 2030 as set out in their 2022 Bus Action Plan.

Why is this important?

The policy is clear – a controlled route to decarbonisation of England’s bus fleets. While there have been high profile policy commitments to decarbonising cars and vans, primarily through the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate (see our previous commentary on this), the bus sector has so far been left out of government action.

The approach of the Bus Services Bill is in some ways similar to the ZEV Mandate in that it focuses on preventing a continued influx of new non-zero emission vehicles rather than imposing deadlines to remove existing vehicles from the roads – this means that, as with cars and vans, ICE and hybrid buses are likely to be on the roads for many years after the cut-off date.

A key difference between the two approaches however is that the Bus Services Bill regulates bus operators, whereas the ZEV Mandate applies to vehicle manufacturers. It remains to be seen what funding or other financial incentives the government may offer to support the transition, having allocated in 2024 £129m in funding for local transport authorities to support the introduction of zero-emission buses.   

Transition to zero-emission bus fleets also cannot take place without significant investment in depot and en-route charging infrastructure, with the logistics of charging likely to be particularly challenging for rural bus routes.

Operators and local authorities will need to give considerable thought to the procurement of new buses, depot upgrades, and funding options, ahead of any ban on new non-zero emission buses coming into effect – so will want to keep watch for further updates from the government on when the ban may be implemented. 

Charlotte Robinson is a senior associate at UK law firm Burges Salmon

Burges Salmon’s Transport team works across the entire transport sector including rail, highways, road transport, aviation and marine and ports. With strong expertise and insight into the sector, the firm covers all aspects of transport law; from corporate ventures, funding and operations to construction, development and dispute resolution.