Mayor gives public first real-life look at city region’s new hydrogen buses

Mayor Steve Rotheram is inviting people to come and see how Liverpool City Region’s new hydrogen buses will look.

From Sunday 25 September to Wednesday 28 September a demonstrator vehicle will be on display at The Royal Albert Dock, giving the public the first chance to view the unique new Metro livery and learn more about the benefits that the zero emissions hydrogen buses will bring to the region.

The reveal of the new vehicle design comes just a week after the introduction of the £2 adult single fare, which makes it cheaper and easier for passengers to travel by bus across the region.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“Buses are the backbone of our region’s public transport system, with more than 400,000 journeys taken by bus every day. With so many of our residents relying on their services to access work, education and other vital public services, I want to ensure we can provide them with better, faster, cleaner journey to take them from A to B.

“Our new hydrogen fleet is more spacious, more accessible, and more befitting of a high-quality service you’d expect of a modern city region like ours – and even better, they’ll be owned by us. It’s a big statement of intent for my ambitions for the future of public transport in our area to make travel cheaper and easier for residents, having recently taken a big step towards that goal with the launch of our £2 bus fare.

“This investment in the future of our buses is only the start of our plans – we’re pressing ahead with work to reregulate our bus network to deliver much greater public control over things like fares, timetables and routes. Working towards a London-style transport system, we can build a more reliable, more efficient, more affordable network that puts the public back at the heart of public transport. If it’s good enough for London, then it’s the very least that our region deserves.”

With Mayor Rotheram having set a target for the Liverpool City Region to become net zero carbon by 2040 at the latest – at least a decade before national targets – the hydrogen buses will be an important addition to the region’s existing fleet, which is already more than 70% low emissions.

The new buses will serve the busy 10A route between St Helens, Knowsley and Liverpool city centre as part of the first Green Bus Route in the city region. Green Bus Routes will make bus journeys faster and more reliable for passengers by introducing priority lanes, traffic signal upgrades and remodelled junctions to prioritise buses over other road traffic.

The Combined Authority has purchased an initial fleet of 20 hydrogen vehicles, from British bus manufacturers Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), with production taking place at factories across the UK including in Lancashire and Falkirk in Scotland. The first vehicles could arrive in the city region as soon as the end of 2022.

The bus being displayed at the Royal Albert Dock is an electric demonstrator vehicle shared with Transport for London and is of almost the exact same body design as the city region’s new hydrogen buses, except for a second set of doors which are used by buses in London.

Combined Authority staff will also be on hand to explain the full range of special features which will on board the buses being built for the city region – including wireless and USB phone charging, internet access and reading lights above seats.

The new Hydrogen buses will be some of the most accessible in the country, with increased capacity for wheelchair users and passengers with prams or buggies.