All aboard Sunderland's new electric buses

Twenty zero-emission single-deckers enter service next month on the E1, E2 and E6 routes between South Shields, Whitburn and Sunderland.

They are quieter and cleaner than existing buses and benefit from improved on-board accessibility features.

The vehicles have been funded by the North East Combined Authority as part of a major £19.5m Levelling Up Fund investment to decarbonise transport in the region.

Along with additional funding from the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, in total 95 new electric buses will join the region’s growing electric fleet in 2025.

Steve Walker, managing director of Stagecoach North East, formally launched the electric buses at an event last week at the Stadium of Light with North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and the new Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.

Sunderland Mayor Allison Chisnall and stakeholders from across the region also attended.

Steve said: “Moving to zero-emission buses is good for the communities we serve, helping to protect their environment and quality of life.

“It’s also important too for the upskilling of our teams, giving them skills that can move forward with the industry.

North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, said: “I pledged to make the North East the country’s greenest public transport network and we’re already delivering on that.

“I was pleased to welcome Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to the region and it was wonderful to hop onboard the new buses which will soon be operating across Sunderland and South Tyneside.”

Ten twin electric charging points are being installed at Stagecoach’s Sunderland depot to serve the vehicles, which will carry 30,000 passengers each week.

Future phases of investment in the North East will see 18 electric buses introduced on the 30/31 and 36 routes in Newcastle.

Nationally, Stagecoach is investing more than £300m in 824 electric vehicles, associated infrastructure and upskilling, enabled by £100m of funding through local authorities from the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland’s zero emission bus regional area schemes.

The bus operator aims to become net-zero in the UK by 2035.

Steve added: “By March 2026 we’ll have 40 sites live across the country [with electric buses] and we’ll have added 500 more electric vehicles, giving us 1,083 zero-emission buses in total. That’s 13 per cent of the fleet.

“Embracing decarbonisation also means adapting the way we work, positively improving our ways of working and the working environment.”

Ian Downie, Head of Yutong UK at Pelican commented, “We are absolutely delighted to have provided these state-of-the-art zero tailpipe emission vehicles to Stagecoach. The vehicles are packed with customer-centric features, such as full electric air conditioning, providing an unrivalled passenger experience.

“The team at Stagecoach have been fantastic to work with this project and we look forward to seeing the vehicles in service.”