Harrogate Bus Company's new zero emission electric bus fleet wins British award for innovation
A Harrogate bus operator’s groundbreaking number 36 bus has won the Best Bus Innovation in Britain trophy.
Judges at the national E-Mobility Awards selected Harrogate Bus Company’s multi-million pound project to deliver 19 new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400EV double deck vehicles as Britain’s best zero emission transport innovation.
Three years in the making, the zero carbon fleet was part of a wider £21 million programme to replace its entire Harrogate fleet with new zero emission buses – as winner of the Best Bus Innovation trophy.
Parent firm Transdev’s Managing Director Henri Rohard said: “We are delighted to receive this prestigious national award for our innovative zero emission buses, which are proving reliable and popular with customers on our premium route, The 36.
“We needed a bus that is going to be robust to deliver high performance in a busy urban environment and also in the more rural sections of the route.
"Most of our zero emission buses on The 36 cover have to more than 100,000 kilometres, or 62,100 miles, a year.”
The company’s mission to convert its Starbeck depot to 100 per cent electric bus operation presented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to work with engineers at a leading bus manufacturer to develop a new bus design capable of building on The 36’s potential for further growth.
Working in partnership with North Yorkshire Council, Government funding worth £7.8 million was secured to support just over a third of the total cost of 39 new electric buses, plus re-equipping The Harrogate Bus Company’s depot with new technology to power and maintain the innovative buses.
The first new electric double-deck bus destined for The 36 was unveiled at a high-profile VIP launch in front of Harrogate’s prestigious Yorkshire Hotel in June 2024 – followed by a free family party featuring red and black ice creams to match the new bus for children, while their parents sampled a bottled beer brewed locally to celebrate the launch.
The red and black double deckers have been joined at Harrogate Bus Company by 20 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric single deckers to create a complete new zero emission electric bus fleet.