Second phase of Scottish Zero Emission Bus (ScotZEB) announced

[EMU303]

Don’t know if it’s been posted elsewhere but The Scottish Government has launched the second phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), with up to £58 million available.

£58 million for zero emission buses | Transport Scotland

www.transport.gov.scot

The Scottish Government has launched the second phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), with up to £58 million available.

Introduced in 2021, ScotZEB replaced previous funding streams as a means to encourage the bus industry to find new and innovative ways to finance zero emission buses and infrastructure. The second phase expands eligibility to coaches and community transport providers, to accelerate the transition to net zero.

The industry rose to the challenge of ScotZEB 1, delivering 276 zero-emission buses and bringing the total number in Scotland to nearly 600. By asking operators, financiers, manufacturers and others to work together, the second phase of ScotZEB seeks to rapidly accelerate the adoption of zero-emission buses.

 

[Volvodart]

Notably the maximum grant per battery electric bus/coach has been reduced from £180,000 to £135,000 and the buses and coaches will have to have bike space unless the bidders come up with a satisfactory reason why they should not. It is not individual companies that are bidding it is a consortium which will have to have a finance company and at least 2 small or medium sized enterprises and/or 2 community transport operators.

 

[overthewater]

You can tell the Scottish green party has their hands all over this revised policy. How they could even justify demanding bike space is ridiculous. I hope most operators will just not take part in this daft scheme.

 

[AndrewTaylor95]

You can tell the Scottish green party has their hands all over this revised policy. How they could even justify demanding bike space is ridiculous. I hope most operators will just not take part in this daft scheme.

Just forcing companies to comply with their authoritarian regime.

 

[GusB]

I'm not quite sure why people are getting so worked up about the provision of bike spaces within the scheme. The relevant guidance can be downloaded from here (I've attached the guidance document):

https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/grants-and-loans/scottish-zero-emission-bus-challenge-fund-phase-2

On page 3 of the document it states:

15. Our support for the purchase of new buses and coaches will be, where
appropriate, conditional on space being available for bike transport in addition
to wheelchair and buggy space. Where operators are seeking vehicles without
this provision, a credible, robust case which clearly demonstrates why such
provision is inappropriate should be set out.

There are going to be some situations where provision of bike spaces isn't going to be possible, hence my emphasis of "where appropriate" in the section I've quoted, but I think it's only fair that any consortium bidding for these funds should explain why they can't make such provision. If they are able to make a robust enough case, fair enough.

One hypothetical example would be a Community Transport provider that usually only transports elderly people from home to and from day care centres, the doctor's surgery, hospital appointments etc.; it would be unreasonable to expect that organisation to provide cycle spaces if the people who use their services are never going to be able to cycle!

 

[overthewater]

It seems this this has gone unnoticed by many. I'm not surprised this has been cut; the Scottish Government has less money to go around, while buying new buses to sit in the same traffic wont help anyone.

Electric buses axed as Scots ministers cuts a transport upgrade budget to zero

Ministers have come under fire for slashing a budget to transform public transport and make it greener in a large part of Scotland to zero without…

www.heraldscotland.com

Ministers have come under fire for slashing a budget to transform public transport and make it greener in a large part of Scotland to zero without warning - as moves are made to ban older cars from city centres.
The Herald can reveal issues with funding has led to the scrapping of plans to electrify a bus fleet as the nation aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Where's the priority? Our reaction to bus funding cancellation - Transform Scotland

The Scottish Government has confirmed that there are ‘no plans’ to provide funding for its Bus Partnership Fund – a fund originally announced in 2019 as a climate emergency response....

transform.scot

“We’re deeply concerned about the future prospects for Scotland’s buses. The Scottish Government’s decision to cancel its £500 million commitment to bus priority undermines efforts to improve bus service reliability and speed, which are the top barriers to bus use.

“Buses are most heavily used by lower income households, so moving forward quickly with bus priority would have the greatest benefits for those people most affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

“The Government’s announcement in 2019 of a £500 million investment in bus priority was rightly welcomed as a transformational commitment to Scotland’s main form of public transport. But it’s over four years since the Scottish Government announced the Bus Partnership Fund and we’re yet to see a single metre of new bus lane on the ground.

“The slow speed and unreliability of bus services is one of the principal barriers that deters people from taking the bus. Putting in place new bus priority would reduce congestion and improve journey times, meaning time and money savings for both passengers and operators. But just 6% of the funds have so far been spent. This lack of progress will likely have further exacerbated fare increases and service cuts.

“Bus patronage has still to recover to pre-pandemic levels, and, as expected, this has led to cuts to bus services and frequencies, and increased fares. So the decision of the Scottish Government to cancel its main investment fund for bus services as part of its Scottish Budget for 2024/25 is particularly foolish.

“The success of bus priority measures is clear. Aberdeen’s introduction of bus gates has resulted in shorter journey times – with the savings for First and Stagecoach being reinvested to provide free travel for passengers in January.”

 

[Stan Drews]

Where are you reading that ScotZEB 2 has been cancelled?
All I can see are comments about an SPT budget being reduced to zero, and the bus priority funding disappearing - although it’s never actually been seen since it’s initial announcement in 2019.

 

[overthewater]

Where are you reading that ScotZEB 2 has been cancelled?
All I can see are comments about an SPT budget being reduced to zero, and the bus priority funding disappearing - although it’s never actually been seen since it’s initial announcement in 2019.

Is there two pots of money here? One for new electric buses and other for bus improvements?

Mind you were STILL waiting on Falkirk council to spend it's money the planned bus improvements. https://www.falkirk.gov.uk/news/article.aspx?aid=6885&q=climate

 

[Volvodart]

Is there two pots of money here? One for new electric buses and other for bus improvements?

SPT bid for, I think it was, 43 electric buses under Scotzeb2 but their bid was unsuccessful.

 

[Stan Drews]

Is there two pots of money here? One for new electric buses and other for bus improvements?

Mind you were STILL waiting on Falkirk council to spend it's money the planned bus improvements. https://www.falkirk.gov.uk/news/article.aspx?aid=6885&q=climate

ScotZEB 2 is nothing to do with the £500m announced in 2019 to improve bus punctuality, and whilst most of the article about the cut to an SPT budget is only available to subscribers, it doesn’t sound like ScotZEB2, as that isn’t specific to SPT.

SPT bid for, I think it was, 43 electric buses under Scotzeb2 but their bid was unsuccessful.

That would make more sense. I understand there was quite a number of unsuccessful bids that didn’t make it past the first stage of the process, and the successful awards haven’t yet been made known.

 

[GusB]

The article from the Herald appears to be behind a paywall. We don't expect anyone to quote the entire article, but having the key facts would be helpful. The part that has been quoted tells us very little!

 

[Edvid]

Here's the full article, which is primarily about SPT losing its two capital grants (one for the Glasgow Subway, one for other stuff) and how that affects them. The rejection of their ScotZEB2 bid for 43 electric buses is linked to it.

The Herald
Electric buses axed as Scots ministers cut a transport upgrade budget to zero

EXCLUSIVE
Electric buses axed as ScotGov cut a SPT transport budget to zero
14 hrs ago

17 Comments

Ministers have come under fire for slashing a budget to transform public transport and make it greener in a large part of Scotland to zero without warning - as moves are made to ban older cars from city centres.

The Herald can reveal issues with funding has led to the scrapping of plans to electrify a bus fleet as the nation aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

It has emerged that the Scottish Government has slashed funding for projects run by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, which is responsible for planning and coordinating regional public transport and is responsible for operating the Glasgow Subway, the third-oldest in the world.

Its capital grant which is relied on to modernise public transport, including the decarbonisation of bus fleets has been slashed from around £15m to zero.

The Scottish Government has also decided that its contribution to the modernisation of Glasgow's subway, which is almost 130 years old, is also cut from around £13m a year to zero.

The SPT is also disappointed that the Scottish Government decided not to support its Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) bid to deliver a fully electric bus fleet across the west of Scotland. It was asking for £5.8m with over £10.9m from SPT.

The move would allow for the replacing of 41 diesel buses but the plan has now been scrapped.

Valerie Davidson, chief executive of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has told ministers of her concerns at the cuts.

It comes after the Herald revealed that the Scottish Government's flagship £500m plan to improve public transport and increase passenger numbers has been plunged into 'chaos' with just £26.9m spent.

It was confirmed by the Scottish Government that there are "no plans" to provide direct funding for the Bus Partnership Fund in the next financial year - 2024/25 Since the fund was established the number of passenger journeys on local bus services in Scotland has actually fallen by nearly 25%.

SPT has said that "despite statements of commitment to public transport, no resources are being made available by the Scottish Government to SPT to support public transport infrastructure across the whole of the region".

Ms Davidson has told ministers that SPT was "committed to delivering on public transport improvements across the region" and added that they were "extremely disappointed by the lack of investment being made available for major public transport transformation".

In a letter seen by the Herald she says that no advance notification of the zero funding decision was given or a request for information on the impact was sought in advance.

The general capital support grant is needed for work on decarbonisation of bus fleets, tunnel integrity, engineering works and bus infrastructure improvements. It also supports councils in their delivery of active travel and local projects, such as environmentally-friendly park and ride schemes.

"Cuts to this funding will have a hugely negative impact on our efforts to ensure transport in our area is greener, more connected, more reliable, and more accessible," Ms Davidson has warned.

"It is disheartening that this ambition to realise accessibility, affordability, availability and connectivity will be negatively impacted due to a lack of capital funding."

The cuts would slash SPT's normal capital spend of around £50m a year by over half and executives are now working out how to deal with the £28m budget black hole.

Modern trains are already being brought into service as part of a £288m modernisation programme, which has also taken a hit from Scottish Government budget cuts. The overall goal is to replace the 40-year-old subway trains, upgrade the signalling systems and install platform screen doors at all 15 stations.

Two of the new trains went into service during off peak hours during in December as a 'soft launch', but SPT was hoping to retire the old fleet by June this year.

Work is due to continue in replacing signalling and communications systems.

A new operational control centre is also underway with hopes it will be complete by the end of 2025 and SPT will be introducing platform screen doors to station platforms by the middle of 2025.

The firm is also due to look into the introduction of Unattended Train Operation or "driverless" trains to the system by the end of 2026.

Full works were expected to be completed by the end of 2026. It comes as the Scottish Government budget for supporting bus services has been slashed by nearly half over two years, from £99.41m in 2022/23 to £55.5m in 2024/25. In the past year there has been an 11% cut.

The bus service support budget provides funding for the Network Support Grant, which helps bus operators to keep fares down and enable them to run services that might not otherwise be commercially viable.

Campaigners have raised concerns that the cuts are likely to impact on the government's aim to cut car miles in Scotland and help protect the environment while low emission zones are being established across the country banning older cars.

Since Glasgow's low emission zone was enforced in June, more than 25,000 fines have been issued.

Some £1.354m was expected to be brought in in the first four months of enforcement.

The amount brought in from fines has risen by over two-and-a-half times over the four months from £173,820 in June to £457,800 in September. In July, some £405,780 was raised and in August it was £422,280.

Enforcement is expected to be brought in in Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen in June, this year.

The motoring organisation RAC has previously warned ministers that the LEZs will discriminate against lower income households who rely on older cars and cannot afford to change up.

Exemptions are available for blue badge holders, motorbikes, mopeds and emergency vehicles. But in general petrol cars made before 2005 and diesels built before September 2014 are not allowed in the zone.

The Scottish Government has set a target to phase out petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 to help create a healthier, cleaner, and greener Scotland.

While stating that transport is the largest contributor to "harmful" climate emissions it said it was committed to reducing our emissions by 75% by 2030 and to a legally binding target of net-zero by 2045.

At the start of its quest it said that the scale of transformation required through decarbonisation is unprecedented.

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “We have already provided £152m from a long term commitment of £246m to the SPT led Subway Modernisation project, and that commitment still stands. However, this was always expected to be spread over a number of years and phased in conjunction with SPT’s own resources.

“The UK Government did not inflation-proof their capital budget which has resulted in nearly a 10% real-terms cut in our capital funding over the medium-term between 2023-24 and 2027-28. We are using all our powers to maximise the funding we have to achieve net zero and maintain high-quality public infrastructure.  The 2024-25 Scottish Budget will spend over £3.87 billion on transport across the country.

“We’re pleased that SPT have received 15 of the 17 new trains as part of the testing programme, with the first two entering passenger service on 11 December and the remaining trains due to be introduced in 2024.”

On ScotZEB2 in general, only 2 of 10 bids (by Rock Road and Zenobe) remain under consideration. "Final and best bids" were due by 19 January.

No clarity on rejected ScotZEB2 bids, but coach hope still strong​

Tim Deakin
Published December 13, 2023

Eight of the 10 bids submitted to the second round of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus (ScotZEB2) challenge fund have been rejected, with scheme administrator the Energy Saving Trust (EST) having given no clarity on why that failure rate is so high.

The two remaining submissions – from lead applicants Rock Road and Zenobe, respectively – are still in play, with those parties having each been given until 19 January 2024 to resubmit what EST describes as “their final and best bid.”

However, sources close to ScotZEB2 have aired a belief that the maximum £58 million put to the scheme by the Scottish Government will now not be allocated in its entirety. They add that there is significant presence of zero-emission coach aspiration in the remaining bids, and note that optimism is high that those operators involved will gain funding.

ScotZEB2 has been described as the final round of public funding in Scotland towards zero-emission coaches and buses and their associated infrastructure, with an overarching aim that it will help to cement a commercial case for those vehicles.

EST’s website notes that the Rock Road and Zenobe bids scored highest of the 10 submitted. The Trust has not replied to questions asking why the initial rejection rate is at such a level.

A guidance document for ScotZEB2 shows that assessment is based on deliverability (30%), financial (40%), market transformation (20%), and wider community and decarbonisation benefit (10%).

Operators that were part of the rejected submissions have been advised that they may now seek to participate in the Rock Road and Zenobe bids, although those approaches are not open to new applicants to the scheme.

Stagecoach quickly advised in its interim results that the ScotZEB2 bids it was part of were unsuccessful “in their current form,” although the group has also confirmed that a recent order for Alexander Dennis Enviro100EV battery-electric buses for its fleets in Scotland is part-funded by the first round of ScotZEB and is thus unaffected.

Another of the rejected bids was led by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), which sought £5.8 million from ScotZEB2 towards 43 battery-electric vehicles from minibuses to full-size single-deckers.

SPT would have contributed £10.9 million to the bid’s cost, although papers around the submission suggest that 43 zero-emission buses would be required to replace 41 diesel examples. SPT is described as the “lead financier” of its submission; terms and conditions of ScotZEB2 also require that at least one private financier is present in each consortium bid.

Those operators that were part of unsuccessful bids have been advised to move quickly if they wish to participate in the Rock Road or Zenobe work. Resubmitted bids will be judged against the same criteria and scoring matrix as before.

No date has been given for when winners will be announced. Provision to award no money from ScotZEB2 remains in play for the revised approach.

 

[RomeoCharlie71]

Was there not some sort of criteria with ScotZEB2 where any bids submitted had to cater for the carrying of bikes on the buses? Perhaps that is related to the high failure rate?

 

[overthewater]

Was there not some sort of criteria with ScotZEB2 where any bids submitted had to cater for the carrying of bikes on the buses? Perhaps that is related to the high failure rate?

If that is the case, then its clear as day the Scottish Green and its members demanded such criteria. The only place that might want such an idea is Border buses or Stagecoach highland.

 

[GusB]

Please note that post #6 onwards was originally in a separate thread that initially suggested that the ScotZEB2 scheme had been cancelled. It has been merged with the previous thread on the subject.

 

[158756]

Is there a reason why the remaining bidders for this Scottish scheme are leasing companies/ "Transportation as a Service" businesses, rather than the operators and local authorities which usually seem to bid for the equivalent scheme in England? Did more of the latter groups bid, but like SPT have all been rejected?

 

[Volvodart]

Is there a reason why the remaining bidders for this Scottish scheme are leasing companies/ "Transportation as a Service" businesses, rather than the operators and local authorities which usually seem to bid for the equivalent scheme in England? Did more of the latter groups bid, but like SPT have all been rejected?

It was not individual company bids, there had to be a consortium of bus companies including small enterprises, so leasing companies were the most appropriate bidders.

 

[Bungle965]

It was not individual company bids, there had to be a consortium of bus companies including small enterprises, so leasing companies were the most appropriate bidders.

Are you able to provide a source for this?
We have had a report stating:
Fiona Hyslop statement on routeone, preceding tomorrow's planned ScotZEB2 announcement:

"I am pleased that tomorrow (Tuesday 23 July), Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney will make a significant announcement which will support more electric buses into Scotland’s fleet while providing charging infrastructure that will also service electric coaches and HGVs."

Scottish Cabinet Secretary addresses sector as ScotZEB2 results due - routeone

Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop has addressed the coach and bus industry ahead of ScotZEB2 winning bids being announced.

www.route-one.net

 

[Volvodart]

Are you able to provide a source for this

See below

Scottish Zero Emission Bus challenge fund | Transport Scotland

www.transport.gov.scot

Who can apply to ScotZEB Phase 2
The following bodies will be eligible to bid for funding from ScotZEB Phase 2 as part of a consortium:

Financiers
Bus and coach operators, including home-to-school and tour coach operators
Community Transport Organisations
Original Equipment Manufacturers, including repowering companies
Infrastructure providers
Local authorities

 

[Blindtraveler]

I wonder if they will get many or any applications from touring operators?

 

[Volvodart]

I wonder if they will get many or any applications from touring operators?

Maynes of Buckie applied and are likely to get their bid for electric coaches for contract work, not touring though. The trial electric coach they had was used on the Walkers Shortbread contract.

 

[Blindtraveler]

0 staff contracts are a double win really as it makes the company whose work the contractor were doing look good as well

 

[EMU303]

Coach and bus operators both prominent in ScotZEB2 winners - routeone

Coach operators and bus operators are equally prominent among winners of ScotZEB2 funding, which will support 252 zero-emission vehicles.

www.route-one.net

Notable that Ember are big winners with part funding for 100 vehicles and 5 infrastructure sites. Nothing at all for First.

 

[Volvodart]

Coach and bus operators both prominent in ScotZEB2 winners - routeone

Coach operators and bus operators are equally prominent among winners of ScotZEB2 funding, which will support 252 zero-emission vehicles.

www.route-one.net

Notable that Ember are big winners with part funding for 100 vehicles and 5 infrastructure sites. Nothing at all for First.

Plus Lothian who said that they were applying there too.

 

[Surreyman]

From Coach and Bus buyer, Alex Hornby mentions Falkirk & Stirling, with Dundee "nearly half of its frontline fleet become zero emission."

Alex Hornby, Group Managing Director, McGill’s Bus Group, said: “McGill’s Bus Group are proud to have led the charge in investment in electric bus fleets and have already saved 11,270 tonnes of carbon, thanks to the investment of £55 million that has been made so far.

“Across Scotland, thanks to the welcome news of this latest funding round, we will soon run around 160 electric buses and 70% of our depots will benefit from complementary infrastructure. Alongside Inverclyde and Renfrewshire which now largely boast a frontline, electric bus fleet, locations like Falkirk and Stirling will now be able to experience the benefits. Our flourishing bus network in Dundee, already fully LEZ compliant, will also see nearly half of its frontline fleet become zero emission. Buses have the power to supercharge Scotland in its quest to become net zero. Here at McGill’s Bus Group, we will do all we can to ensure the potential of the sector is realised.”

 

[aswilliamsuk]

From Coach and Bus buyer, Alex Hornby mentions Falkirk & Stirling, with Dundee "nearly half of its frontline fleet become zero emission."

Alex Hornby, Group Managing Director, McGill’s Bus Group, said: “McGill’s Bus Group are proud to have led the charge in investment in electric bus fleets and have already saved 11,270 tonnes of carbon, thanks to the investment of £55 million that has been made so far.

“Across Scotland, thanks to the welcome news of this latest funding round, we will soon run around 160 electric buses and 70% of our depots will benefit from complementary infrastructure. Alongside Inverclyde and Renfrewshire which now largely boast a frontline, electric bus fleet, locations like Falkirk and Stirling will now be able to experience the benefits. Our flourishing bus network in Dundee, already fully LEZ compliant, will also see nearly half of its frontline fleet become zero emission. Buses have the power to supercharge Scotland in its quest to become net zero. Here at McGill’s Bus Group, we will do all we can to ensure the potential of the sector is realised.”

Bearing in mind that the active bus fleet in Dundee is approx 76 vehicles - and that they already have 12 EV deckers - that suggests at least twenty of the McGills vehicles in this funding round will be for Dundee, and then presumably the remainder for Falkirk and Stirling.

 

[Class 466]

From Coach and Bus buyer, Alex Hornby mentions Falkirk & Stirling, with Dundee "nearly half of its frontline fleet become zero emission."

Alex Hornby, Group Managing Director, McGill’s Bus Group, said: “McGill’s Bus Group are proud to have led the charge in investment in electric bus fleets and have already saved 11,270 tonnes of carbon, thanks to the investment of £55 million that has been made so far.

“Across Scotland, thanks to the welcome news of this latest funding round, we will soon run around 160 electric buses and 70% of our depots will benefit from complementary infrastructure. Alongside Inverclyde and Renfrewshire which now largely boast a frontline, electric bus fleet, locations like Falkirk and Stirling will now be able to experience the benefits. Our flourishing bus network in Dundee, already fully LEZ compliant, will also see nearly half of its frontline fleet become zero emission. Buses have the power to supercharge Scotland in its quest to become net zero. Here at McGill’s Bus Group, we will do all we can to ensure the potential of the sector is realised.”

His favourite design agency will be pleased

 

[EMU303]

What is the basic criteria that sees some companies very successful in their bids whilst some fail completely?

 

[Volvodart]

What is the basic criteria that sees some companies very successful in their bids whilst some fail completely?

Only one of the two consortia was successful. You could not be in both consortia.

 

[Observer]

From Coach and Bus buyer, Alex Hornby mentions Falkirk & Stirling, with Dundee "nearly half of its frontline fleet become zero emission."

Alex Hornby, Group Managing Director, McGill’s Bus Group, said: “McGill’s Bus Group are proud to have led the charge in investment in electric bus fleets and have already saved 11,270 tonnes of carbon, thanks to the investment of £55 million that has been made so far.

“Across Scotland, thanks to the welcome news of this latest funding round, we will soon run around 160 electric buses and 70% of our depots will benefit from complementary infrastructure. Alongside Inverclyde and Renfrewshire which now largely boast a frontline, electric bus fleet, locations like Falkirk and Stirling will now be able to experience the benefits. Our flourishing bus network in Dundee, already fully LEZ compliant, will also see nearly half of its frontline fleet become zero emission. Buses have the power to supercharge Scotland in its quest to become net zero. Here at McGill’s Bus Group, we will do all we can to ensure the potential of the sector is realised.”

I had heard a few weeks ago from a driver that there were supposedly going to be electrics coming to Midland to replace some of the fleet. Will likely be Yutongs, not sure what routes though.