OPINION: Our electric dream has become a reality - Alex Hornby, Harrogate Bus Company

The first steps would include a commitment to run only ultra-low emission diesel buses within five years, alongside the introduction of electric buses to our town network.

As of today, we run eight electric buses - the first opportunity charged buses in the UK on our local town routes serving Bilton, Jennyfield and Pannal Ash.

This is alongside a fleet of ultra-low emission vehicles powered by biodiesel, all to Euro VI emission standards, producing 96 per cent less emissions than the buses they replaced.

Fast forward to five years later, the path to zero-emission is now well and truly on.

We received the welcome news last week that we had been selected, via our partnership bid with North Yorkshire County Council to receive funding support – alongside our own commercial investment of £12m to complete the full electrification of our fleet and our depot base at Starbeck.

This will include a ceremonial removal of our diesel tank and replacement with electric charging points, generated cleanly from off-shore sustainable power sources.

The fleet of buses on the 1 along Knaresborough Road, travelling through a known area of poor air quality around Bond End, alongside the fleet used on the 7 travelling out to Wetherby and Leeds will be replaced by an advanced fleet of electric single deck buses, capable of travelling all day long with a single overnight charge.

The iconic 36 will also see its young fleet fully replaced with a complement of electric double deck buses.

As you can imagine, whilst we clearly believe that the future of bus propulsion must be zero-emission, that this must not compromise customer comfort that the brand has become famous for: we have thrown down the gauntlet that all of these new buses must address the travelling environment alongside the critical importance of reliability.

We now set upon one of the most exciting courses for transport ever in our town, again making Harrogate a world class example of sustainable, high quality bus travel.

By the time the fleet is introduced, we will be just one of four towns in the UK to deliver a fully electric bus network.

Our dream has become a reality.

It promises to be a real game-changer for the perception of public transport, and we believe it will grow demand in a town in which so many could rely on the car, but choose the bus instead.