Market Monitoring

This section provides the latest market news for low carbon buses in the United Kingdom, the number of vehicles in circulation and where they are in service. You can search for specific items of news by typing in a keyword.

19 March 2013 New eco-buses in Scotland Thanks to the latest round of investment from the Scottish Government's Green Bus Fund, fleets of new low-carbon buses will take to Scotland's roads....

10 March 2013 Carbon neutral biogas-powered buses launched in Runcorn Ten carbon neutral biogas-powered buses have been launched in Runcorn. The fleet of buses are powered by gas from organic food waste....

08 March 2013 Gas bus ready for trials The first example of the CNG-powered bus being developed by Scania and ADL is set to start a demonstration programme....

06 March 2013 Electric Buses Test Wireless Charging Two electric buses test wireless inductive charging in Mannheim, Germany....

03 March 2013 Arriva brings hybrid buses to Manchester Arriva Manchester celebrated the arrival of its first fleet of hybrid technology buses as they rolled into the area....

01 March 2013 Hybrid technology gets a boost with KERS Hybrid technology need not involve the use of an expensive battery pack. Alternative approaches can be considered, most notably the use of a flywheel-based KERS: Kinetic Energy Recovery System....

01 March 2013 Performance of Battery Electric Buses in Practice TNO performed exploratory research and obtained practical experiences which led to insights that form fertile ground for a follow-up towards a procedure that can be utilized to compare different zero-emission buses...

23 February 2013 Hybrid Buses in Dundee Dundee bus operator National Express has invested £2.8 million to launch a string of hybrid vehicles in its local fleet, significantly reducing carbon emissions and saving on fuel expenditure....

15 February 2013 Volvo Buses receives order for hybrid buses from Quebec Volvo Buses has received an order for 475 hybrid buses from Quebec in Canada....

13 February 2013 Electric Buses in Coventry have international appeal Coventry-based transport operator Travel de Courcey says it is getting an increasing amount of interest in its electric buses from overseas....

01 February 2013 Chinese electric buses trial in London Two BYD electric buses will be entering service with Go-Ahead in London this year. They will be full-size 12m models....

07 January 2013 Iveco Irisbus to provide 182 new buses to the city of Turin Iveco Irisbus delivered the first four Citelis and Crossway buses to the city of Turin's transport commission (GTT)...

06 January 2013 Queretaro State Plans Conversion of Diesel Public Transport Buses to CNG Director of the Department of Transportation for the central Mexican state of Queretaro, has announced his government's intention to implement conversions of public transportation buses from diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG)...

05 January 2013 Salzburg orders Solaris Trollino MetroStyle trolleybuses Salzburg maintains its commitment to eco-friendly electric mobility with quiet and clean trolleybuses....

30 December 2012 BRT Solution for Sweden Uses Gas Hybrid Buses A joint venture between the City of Malmo, bus passenger transport company Nobina Sweden and Skanetrafiken, will see 15 new gas hybrid buses commence operation in Malmo in June 2014....

20 December 2012 Hydrogen-powered buses highlighted in new EU report Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking report investigates hydrogen-powered buses...

19 December 2012 Anglian Bus takes first MAN Ecocity gas buses Anglian Bus in Beccles has taken delivery of the first six of 13 new MAN EcoCity biogas-powered buses...

18 December 2012 Costa Rican government lauds new clean-technology buses President Laura Chinchilla signed an executive order for the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) to buy "the cleanest and cheapest energy available in the country" starting in January....

12 December 2012 New fleet of buses is running on gas Bus users between Lowestoft and Norwich were given an early festive treat as they became some of the first passengers in the UK to travel on a bus capable of running on biogas...

10 December 2012 Six new Volvo hybrids for Ensign Bus Ensign Bus have recently taken delivery of six new Volvo B5LH hybrid buses with Wrightbus bodywork for use on local services in the Thurrock area....

08 December 2012 Seven new buses for Bath Seven new low-floor buses equipped will soon be running on a key route through Bath. ...

05 December 2012 Eleven new Volvo hybrid buses for Brighton and Hove Brighton & Hove Bus Company have updated their fleet having recently taken delivery of eleven new Volvo B5LH hybrid double deck buses with Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini 2 bodywork....

30 November 2012 Lincoln buses recognised at the UK Bus Awards Lincoln's BioBuses earned the runner-up title at the UK Bus Awards...

29 November 2012 Go-Ahead's gas bus at Dorset royal visit One of Go-Ahead's new gas buses played a supporting role during a visit by HRH The Prince of Wales to Poundbury in Dorset when the Prince opened a new renewable gas plant....

26 November 2012 New-generation Enviro500 Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) has unveiled its new-generation, three-axle Enviro500 double deck - and announced advance orders for more than 530....

25 November 2012 Optare won automotive award The most prestigious annual award for innovation in the UK automotive industry was won by Optare plc with its all-electric fast charging bus....

21 November 2012 Warrington goes green with Optare Versa hybrids Warrington Borough Transport has taken delivery of six Optare Versa diesel-electric hybrids for use on its Centrelink town centre services...

20 November 2012 ADL secures orders of 1000 buses Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) announced that it has won orders for almost 1,000 vehicles, worth £220 million, all of which will be delivered in the next 18 months....

10 November 2012 Green partnership rewarded Volvo Bus in partnership with Arriva were awarded the prestigious Green Award at the routeONE Operator Excellence Awards....

03 November 2012 Arriva buys rubbish-fuelled buses Arriva makes an investment in fleet buses which will be powered by biomethane produced from landfill-produced gas...

02 November 2012 Electric buses coming to Waterloo Two electric buses will be operating in Waterloo...

30 October 2012 Stagecoach buses switch up to B30 biofuel Stagecoach introduces B30 biofuel for Scottish buses...

29 October 2012 Greener Buses in East Lothian Lothian Buses announced the introduction of new Wrightbus Eclipse 2 buses...

25 October 2012 Hybrid buses enter service in Bath Double-decker hybrid buses will be running in Bath...

21 October 2012 Mayor welcomes production of new bus for London TfL has approved the order of 600 hybrid buses for London....

20 October 2012 King Long Launches CNG Bi-Fuel Light Bus King Long has launched CNG bi-fuel light bus....

20 October 2012 Lincoln's green buses finalists for UK Bus Awards The BioBus has been shortlisted for the Environment Award in the Bus Awards 2012....

18 October 2012 Environment friendly buses on their way to Darlington Arriva introduces CNG-fuelled buses in Darlington...

16 October 2012 Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft to get gas powered buses Gas-fuelled buses will be in operation in Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft...

09 October 2012 Brazil Mayor confirm plan for BYD electric buses Sao Paulo's Mayor has announced plans that he wants BYD electric buses to run in Sao Paulo...

08 October 2012 Norman Baker launches eco-friendly buses Minister for Transport, Norman Baker has launched Nottingham's new electric buses...

07 October 2012 EMT's CNG - powered buses hits Madrid's streets CNG buses have gone into service in Madrid....

03 October 2012 Mercedes Benz advanced Citaro Fuel Cell Hybrid technology gets top EBUS Award Citaro FuelCell Hybrid has received the EBUS Award....

02 October 2012 Inductive charging for electric bus trials in Netherlands A 12 meter electric bus charged wirelessly by induction loops is in trial...

30 September 2012 Reading Buses places order for 19 ADL Enviro300 Scania gas-powered buses Reading Buses invested in a fleet of 19 gas-powered buses developed jointly by ADL and Scania...

29 September 2012 Electric buses for Vienna Electric buses have entered into service in Vienna....

27 September 2012 Scottish Government to boost environment friendly bus purchases The Scottish Government encourages bus companies to buy eco-friendly vehicles....

27 September 2012 Wireless-charge battery buses for Milton Keyes Arriva will be operating wireless-charge battery buses in Milton Keynes...

18 September 2012 Nottingham trials CNG MAN EcoCity Bus Nottingham City Transport trials CNG-powered Man EcoCity bus....

15 September 2012 Tata Motors deliver 320 CNG buses for Delhi Transit Scheme Tata Motors has commenced supplying CNG buses for the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System....

11 September 2012 Happy first birthday to Lothian Buses' greener hybrid bus fleet ...

08 September 2012 Norman Baker launches eco-friendly buses Minister for Transport, Norman Baker has launched Nottingham's new electric buses...

03 September 2012 Fast-charge battery buses in Coventry Optare Versa EV battery-electric buses are in service in Coventry...

02 September 2012 Hungarian bus company testing LAZ CNG bus for 2013 operations LAZ has started testing CNG powered bus in Hungary....

15 August 2012 Stagecoach to play key role in delivery of Europe's largest hydrogen bus fleet Stagecoach will deliver Europe's largest hydrogen bus fleet...

10 August 2012 Mexico City presents new natural gas bus service Mexico City will be operating natural gas buses....

25 July 2012 Ireland launches the first ever natural gas powered bus goes into service Ireland's first natural gas-powered bus is in trial in Cork...

10 July 2012 East Midlands airport deploys biomethane bus East Midlands airport is trialing a bus powered by carbon neutral liquid biomethane supplied by Gasrec....

10 July 2012 Sweden announces ultra fast charging stations for plug-in hybrid buses Gothenburg will be installing two fast charging stations for Volvo plug-in hybrid buses...

10 July 2012 UK's first electric trolleybus system planned for Leeds DfT have granted approval for a £250 million electric trolleybus scheme for Leeds...

10 June 2012 Stagecoach grows its hybrid bus fleet Stagecoach announces 13 new Enviro400 hybrids in Manchester...

10 June 2012 Transport for Greater Manchester greens school travel Transport for Greater Manchester are operating 39 Versa hybrid school buses....

10 June 2012 Hydrogen fuel cell buses arrive in Switzerland Switzerland welcome five Mercedes-Benz hydrogen fuel cell bus...

26 March 2012 Government boosts support for low carbon buses DfT allocates £31 million to support 439 low-carbon buses as part of the Green Bus Fund....

04 February 2012 Aberdeen City Council bus fleet moves to hydrogen Aberdeen City Council secures EU funding to support Scotland's first hybrogen bus fleet and refuelling infrastructure....

01 February 2012 MAN's gas bus on trial with Reading Transport Reading Transport trials MAN's CNG powered EcoCity with support from the Gas Bus Alliance....

21 December 2011 Round 3 of the Green Bus Fund bidding guidance published DfT publised new guidance on Round 3 of the Green Bus Fund....

08 December 2011 Government launches 20 million pounds for a third round of the Green Bus Fund Transport Minister Norman Baker announced today that bus services across England are set to receive a 90 million pound package, with 20 million pounds allocated to the Green Bus Fund....

08 December 2011 First's scoops Carbon Reduction award First UK Bus has been awarded a prestigious Carbon Reduction prize at the Environmental Excellence Awards 2011 for their DriveGreen system....

08 December 2011 Stagecoach emark on CNG bus trial in Liverpool Stagecoach will trial the MAN Ecocity gas bus for six weeks, testing its performance on Liverpool's roads....

08 December 2011 First Manchester introduces forteen new Volvo hybrid buses First Manchester expands its hybrid bus fleet with the arrival of 14 Wrightbus-bodied Volvo B5LHs valued at 4 million pounds....

08 December 2011 MAN brings the EcoCity gas bus to the UK market MAN introduces the right-hand drive Ecocity gas bus for the UK market, working in partnerhsip with the Gas Bus Alliance to provide biomethane supplies and refuelling infrastrucutre....

08 December 2011 Nobina Sweden places major biomethane bus order Nobina AB, supplier of passenger transport to local communities throughout the Nordic countries, has invested over USD 74 million in new biomethane fuelled regional buses....

08 December 2011 Volvo launches new natural gas/biomethane city bus Volvo Buses has launched its new 7900 city bus in Europe which includes a compressed natural gas / biomethane option....

12 October 2011 Hyundai unveils Blue-City CNG Hybrid Bus Hyundai introduces Korea's first CNG hybrid bus...

03 October 2011 Singapore embarks on fuel cell and diesel-electric hybrid bus trial ...

03 October 2011 Hybrid buses hit the roads of Munich Mercedes and Man roll out hybrid buses in the green city of Munich...

03 October 2011 Optare electric bus begins operation at Heathrow Heathrow goes green with Optare electric bus...

03 October 2011 MAN pushes forward with CNG fuelled bus Man trials EcoCity bus in Merseyside...

26 July 2011 Huyton Travel introduces eight new Optare Solo hybrid buses Merseyside independent bus operator Huyton Travel has increased its fleet size to over 50 with the arrival of eight new Optare Solo midibuses. ...

26 July 2011 ADL wins major hybris bus order in New Zealand 118 Enviro 200 hybrid buses arrive in Tauranga, New Zealand...

26 July 2011 Volvo wins major international hybrid bus orders Volvo has successful won hybrid bus orders in Norway and Brazil totalling 151 vehicles....

26 July 2011 Reading pushes forward with rolling out hybrid buses Reading Transport launches five new low carbon buses...

26 July 2011 FIRST UK BUS reap the rewards of a smart fuel saving initiative DriveGreen FIRST UK BUS reveal their DriveGreen programme has saved 30,000 tonnes of CO2 and achieved a 4.9% reduction in fuel consumption over the last two years....

13 July 2011 Hybrid User Forum Launches A European lead Hybrid User Forum launched in May to make the link between users and manufacturers of hybrid commercial vehicles. ...

24 June 2011 Optare wins funding for hybrid buses in Manchester Greater Manchester PTE has ordered a further 22 hybrid buses from Optare....

24 June 2011 Nottingham City Council orders 8 Optare Solo EV buses Nottingham City Council goes green and confirms order for 8 Optare Solo EVs ...

23 June 2011 Stagecoach to invest an additional 1.8 million on hybrid buses Stagecoach announces it is to spend a further 1.8 million from the in Green Bus Fund to introduce an additional 20 electric hybrid buses in Manchester....

10 June 2011 Optare announces Versas entering service in Stratford New Optare hybrid Versas enter service in Stratford-upon-Avon ...

01 June 2011 Biomethane buses begin operation in Lincoln Stagecoach launch 11 Optare Solos run on biomethane in Lincoln...

28 May 2011 TfL secures funding for an additional 90 hybrid buses Transport for London has secured an extra 3 million from the Green Bus Fund to buy 90 new double-decker hybrid buses. ...

01 May 2011 Wrightbus leads an innovative research project to further reduce CO2 emission from hybrid buses A UK consortium led by Wrightbus and including Queen's University Belfast, Revolve Technologies and Ricardo is to carry out research to further reduce power consumption and CO2 emissions in hybrid diesel-electric buses. ...

20 April 2011 Volvo Buses announces strong hybrid bus order intake in the UK Volvo Buses announces orders of 51 hybrid buses in the UK from companies including Bullocks of Cheadle....

25 March 2011 Cumfybus places order for 13 Optare Solo hybrids in Liverpool Cumfybus is investing around 2.5 million in 13 Optare Solo hybrids for use on three city centre services in Liverpool....

10 November 2010 Wrightbus double deck hybrid makes a big impression in Bath Wrightbus's Gemini 2 hybrid electric bus, funded by the European CIVITAS Renaissance Initiative, begins operation in Bath...

14 October 2010 Stagecoach to invest 9m in new greener hybrid electric buses Stagecoach confirmed today (14 October 2010) that it is to invest around 9 million in a fleet of 47 state-of-the-art hybrid electric buses for Newcastle and Sheffield....

15 July 2010 ADL forges ahead with hybrid strategy as 26 Enviro400H go into service in Oxford As a fleet of electric-hybrid buses took to the streets of historic Oxford, as part of the UK's biggest single investment in green bus technology, the man behind their creation forecast that Britain......

05 July 2010 Government announces further 15m funding for green buses The Government has announced that over 150 new low carbon buses will join fleets throughout England as a result of an additional 15m funding, announced by Transport Minister Norman Baker....

30 June 2010 Greener, cleaner buses just the ticket for Scotland Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond got a glimpse of the future when he boarded a revolutionary Scottish-built bus that promises greener, cleaner transport for operators and passengers across......

28 May 2010 Volvo to commence serial production of hybrid buses Volvo Buses will now commence serial production of its hybrid bus Volvo 7700 Hybrid and the double-decker Volvo B5L Hybrid. The hybrid bus will reduce fuel consumption by up to 35% and carbon......

01 April 2010 ADL forges ahead with large scale hybrid production Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) is forging ahead with production of the first large-scale orders for hybrid buses in the UK....

25 March 2010 Government announces Green Bus Fund 2 and details of 30m spending on low carbon transport Following the Budget, the Department for Transport has announced details of 30m Government funding through the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) to support the introduction of greener buses......

03 December 2009 Government announces winners of Green Bus Fund The Department for Transport has announced the winners of the Green Bus Fund which aims to encourage bus operators and local authorities to buy new low carbon buses....

20 November 2009 European Commission approves state aid for purchasing low carbon buses in England The European Commission has authorised an aid scheme supporting the purchase of low-carbon buses in England. The main objective of the scheme is to reduce the CO2 emissions produced by public buses......

22 April 2009 DfT announces changes to Bus Service Operators' Grant The Department for Transport has announced that bus operators achieving a six per cent improvement in their fuel efficiency will enjoy increases in the Bus Service Operators' Grant (BSOG)......

16 December 2008 Government changes to BSOG will stimulate introduction of low carbon buses The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) welcomes today's announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport, Geoff Hoon, regarding changes to the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG)....