Birmingham airport has been awarded £1.4 million from the Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme, which is administered by the Department for Transport and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), for purchasing electric buses and installing a dedicated bus charging infrastructure.
The funding, announced at the UK Bus Summit in Westminster yesterday (February 19), will support the electrification of the airport’s landside bus fleet with ultra-low emission buses operating as a passenger transport service on all airport car park routes.
Nick Barton, chief executive officer at Birmingham Airport, said: “Since 2012, the airport has reduced its CO2 by 20 percent per passenger. Funding will support us in working towards lowering our CO2 per passenger even further, which is just fantastic.
“We have made significant customer service improvements across the airport, to increase capacity and improve passenger experience, with the vision of positioning Birmingham as Europe’s leading airport. The electric buses form part of this vision, not to mention their sustainability benefits being ultra-low emission.”
The airport is currently negotiating with a bus manufacturer, aiming to have the necessary infrastructure works undertaken to commence the fully electric bus service in Autumn 2019. The remaining investment towards this infrastructure will come from Birmingham Airport.
Feature image: Birmingham Airport
