How electric buses could be 'force for good' to ease travel woes as Harrogate bucks transport trend

Certainly the saga over public transport is one that has long rumbled on, be it ructions over funding and remote access or services that might arrive but not necessary on time.

If you build it, people will come, insists the man behind bus services in Harrogate.

Alex Hornby, Transdev chief executive, believes a sea change is building as perceptions shift.

The company is ploughing millions into an electric fleet with the Harrogate Bus Company, with the town set in time to become of only four in the country with a completely electric system.

Amid a one per cent decline in bus use nationwide, operator Transdev has seen a 10 per cent growth on its town centre network since it brought in its first electric bus ‘product’.

And in three years, it has seen a 21 per cent increase in passenger numbers on its flagship No 36, with the voice of former BBC broadcaster Harry Gration reading out the next stop.

Buses are a “force for good”, insisted Mr Hornby, with electric futures the “icing on the cake”.

Vibrant towns

A bigger focus towards electric bus use has been well evidenced, with more than 200 new vehicles announced across Yorkshire in March after nearly £50m in Government funding was secured.

Mr Hornby said: “We appear to be on the cusp, in accepting that unfiltered growth of the car isn’t acceptable any more. All it does is make congestion.

“What we want is towns and cities to be vibrant and enjoyable places to be.

“We do appear to have a government that appears to accept that mass transit has a role to play.

“The future has to be buses. If we believe congestion and pollution are a problem, then buses are the solution. There is another way – and it works.”

Flagship No 36

Across Yorkshire, Transdev’s flagship No 36 double decker has long been held up as different. The Harrogate, Ripon, Leeds service started 20 years ago, with plush leather seats in trademark black and red.

Now the fleet has little libraries on board, and recycling areas. There’s the free wi-fi and USB ports – and it even has double glazing.

Mr Hornby explained: “In surveys, half of people on the No 36 like to just look out the window. Standard windows mist up, they get condensation.”

This helps, he admitted, in driving perceptions over Harrogate’s bus services.

“People don’t say ‘I use the bus’, they say they use the 36. It’s a brand, a badge of honour.”

Now, with electric buses, it changes perceptions again

“People are very proud. Even when you look at estate agents’ listings in Harrogate it says ‘this house is on an electric bus network’.”

Environment

Harrogate has long been viewed as the ‘chic capital of the North’, with wide leafy streets and long driveways and with wealthy homeowners having garage capacity for multiple cars.

In truth, Mr Hornby reveals, this is the district where Transdev sees its highest number of car owners travelling by bus. More than half of passengers – 56 per cent – have access to a car.

“Now, increasingly, people are aware of emissions and the environment,” he said. “They could use a car but they choose to take the bus.”

In surveys, he said, concerns for the environment now rank among passengers’ top five reasons for using bus services.

It used to be “lucky” to make the top 10, he added.

“It’s people saying ‘I’m making a concerted effort to do my bit for the environment’,” said Mr Hornby.

“If you think of Harrogate, you might think of the Jaguars on the driveway.

“Actually, if you give people a good choice, they use the bus and they like the bus.”

Emissions

In 2017, the Harrogate Bus Company set out to convert to zero emissions. First, through ultra-low emission diesel buses, with 96 per less emissions, and then with eight electric buses.

Now bids with North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) have secured £7.8m towards 39 new electric buses within three years, including the 36 fleet, converted to zero emission.

Diesel tanks are to be “ripped out”, replaced by charging points.

Routes such as Bond End, known for its poor air quality, will see single deckers that can run all day on a single charge.

This is “serious investment”, said Mr Hornby, with more than £12m coming from Transdev to make it happen, aimed at creating a “world class” bus service for the town and the wider district.

It isn’t perfect – he is keen for “brave” politicians to take action on more park and ride schemes, and has strong opinions on the wider benefits of bus and priority lanes when it comes to congestion.

But he believes it will prove a “gamechanger”, changing perceptions of public transport to radically grow demand.

“We are on the cusp of accepting that the bus is the key to solving a quite important problem,” he said. “Acceptance of buses as a force for good will only grow.”

Investment

Almost £50m in funds was secured towards nearly 200 electric buses in Yorkshire in March under the Government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) fund.

The breakdown sees funding of £24m in West Yorkshire for 111 zero-emission buses in Bradford, Wakefield and Leeds, matched by £33m from local operators.

York Council was awarded £8.5m towards 44 electric buses, while funding of £8.3m for 27 more in South Yorkshire was hailed as a “huge step”.

The Government has set a target of funding 4,000 across the country – which the Prime Minister promised in 2020 to “drive forward the UK’s progress on its net zero ambitions” and to “build and rebuild those vital connections to every part of the UK”.

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