Arriva has pulled out of a £6.1million pound deal to provide electric buses in Stevenage.

The multinational bus company said ridership in Hertfordshire has not kept pace with national trends, and it has decided not to roll out electric buses in the town.

The scheme in Stevenage was part of a wider £198m Westminster government investment into zero-emission buses in 12 zones across England – called Zero-Emission Bus Regional Areas or ZEBRAs.

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Hertfordshire County Council was selected to participate in the scheme and had partnered with Arriva to run 27 battery-electric buses.

Councillor Phil Bibby, who is the authority’s executive member for transport, said Arriva’s decision is “very sad”.

Confirming the news, an Arriva spokesperson said: “We are disappointed to announce that as a result of reduced customer demand post-pandemic, and recovery significantly lower than national trends, we will no longer be moving forward with plans to bring a new electric fleet to Stevenage at this time.

“We share the frustration this decision will cause, particularly amongst our customers and our delivery partner, Hertfordshire County Council, but have taken this difficult decision with the long term viability of our network in mind.

“We are proud to have served local communities in Stevenage for more than 25 years and are focussed on continuing to do so, working in close partnership with the council to deliver for passengers.”

The firm will continue to run buses in Stevenage using its existing fleet.

Cllr Bibby responded to the news at Hertfordshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Cabinet Panel on Wednesday, March 8.

He said: “There is nothing we can really do about this but we have negotiated with the Department for Transport an extra few weeks to phone around and find a new operator.”

Cllr Bibby added he would have thought all operators would be keen to take public cash to roll out the first electric bus fleet in Hertfordshire.

The Department for Transport confirmed Hertfordshire County Council would receive £5.6m as part of the wider £196m fund for zero-emission buses in March 2022.

This fund sits alongside an additional investment of around £71m into new vehicles across England in 2021, and an extra £25.3m announced on March 2, 2023.

When the government first launched the ZEBRA initiative in 2021, decision-makers said the investments would support vehicle manufacturers to develop zero-emission technology and support transport authorities in their efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The scheme has been accounted for in Hertfordshire County Council’s 2023/24 Integrated Plan, which sets out a total scheme cost of £6.1m.

Hourly air quality data from St George’s Way in Stevenage is recorded and uploaded to the Herts and Beds Air Quality Network website.

According to provisional data on the network website, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels breached the legal limit of 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air on 313 occasions in January and February 2023.

A Public Health England report sets out NO2 is introduced into the environment largely from vehicle traffic and is associated with asthma, lung cancer, and potentially low birth rate and dementia.