Britain’s first all-electric bus town to pave the way for green communities of the future

Britain's transport systems are broken. Commuting by rail is expensive, unreliable and unpleasant, and away from the major commuter routes, buses, trams and trains are so infrequent and expensive that cars are essentially made a necessity. This in turn has made air pollution - mostly caused by cars - one of the biggest causes of preventable illness in the UK, causing at least 40,000 premature deaths a year and costing the NHS £15 billion. And surface transport is now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, with almost no progress in reducing them since 1990.

So we welcome the news that a £50m fund has been made available to support the creation of the first town in England with an all-electric bus system

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that local authorities can bid for money to help pay for a new fleet of electric buses. The winning area will receive up to £50 million to help pay for a brand-new fleet of electric buses, reducing emissions and cleaning up the air in their community.

The DfT said that the winning town would be used as a model by government as it aims to ensure all buses are fully electric by 2025. Read more at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/britains-first-all-electric-bus-town-to-pave-the-way-for-green-communities-of-the-future

We call upon Chesterfield Borough Council to create a consortium, including experts from local universities, transport and the business world to submit a robust bid and enable Chesterfield to be the first electric bus town in England.