Sheffield City Council is planning an ambitious push to revamp the state of public transport in the city with 65 new electric buses.
Sheffield councillor, Ben Miskell, Chair of Transport, Regeneration and Climate, discussed plans to transform that state of transport in the city, which includes a £1,000,000 Clean Air Investment Plan.
Cllr Miskell said: “What we would like to do is change our entire fleet over to electric, zero emission buses.
“We have put in an ambitious bid to the government for 65 EV buses in the city, which will start to transform our buses.”
He discussed how the current state of public transport is not up to the standard required and the new plans hope to tackle the issue of pollution across the city.
Cllr Miskell explained there are 2,400 buses currently operating in Sheffield and many of them are still using old diesel polluting technology.
This is a huge issue the council faces and they are hoping to invest a substantial amount of money to install the technology needed in bus depots.
There is also the economical issue when it comes to the price of owning an EV vehicle privately, which includes difficulties with the electronic structure needed to charge your car at home.
Cllr Miskell said: “One of the issues we’re really mindful of is how you would charge your vehicle if you live on a terrace street, a street without a drive. In the city or many of the parts of the city, it is actually difficult to be able to charge a vehicle on a drive.
“We’re putting in about 20 new EV charging points across the city to do that. We’re also working with the private sector and fast charge providers to bring out more fast charging zones in the city too.”
When discussing the contentious topic of Clean Air Zones after nearly a year of their use within Sheffield, Miskell is wholehearted in his attitude it has been beneficial for the city.
He said within the data the council has analysed, the amount of people using the Clean Air Zones has increased and the new transport plans have encouraged the public to buy electric vehicles and invest in the new policies.
