More than 90% of the order will be zero-emission buses, it also represents a huge boost to the UK’s net zero goals and the Government’s Decarbonisation Transport Plan, which is committed to supplying 4,000 new zero-emission buses in the UK. Wrightbus estimates that over the three years of the partnership, 1.13 million tonnes of CO2 will be mitigated when the vehicles are in operation. Also for every vehicle manufactured, ten trees will be planted in the towns and cities where the buses are deployed.
Matt Carney, CEO of Go-Ahead Bus, said: “This multi-million-pound investment and partnership with Wrightbus will accelerate the transition to zero-emission fleet across the UK. We are proud to be working in partnership with the UK Government and local authorities to deliver transformational environmental change for communities, while supporting UK jobs and the growth of the country’s supply chain.” The deal not only secures jobs at Wrightbus but will support an additional 1,500 across the UK supply chain, the company states. It estimates that already more than 5,500 jobs in the supply chain are supported by the growth of Wrightbus in recent years, which has
worked with over 1,000 suppliers across the UK since 2019. A training and apprenticeships fund has been established as part of the partnership, which will see the development of a learning academy for Go-Ahead and Wrightbus employees, that will also see placements made available for students with Special Educational Needs and young people not in training or education. Wrightbus CEO, Jean-Marc Gales, said the deal was momentous. “It represents a huge boost to the UK’s economy and it will support homegrown manufacturing, jobs and skills for the next three years and beyond.
We’ve always been proud to support the UK’s supply chain and have already spent more than a billion pounds with UK firms. Our Go-Ahead partnership will ensure even more money can be spent supporting good green jobs.” As part of the deal, Go-Ahead will become official partners with the only research centre in the world dedicated to zero emission buses – W-Tech. Backed by Wrightbus and Queen’s University Belfast, W-Tech will work alongside Go-Ahead to help with its mission to decarbonise its fleet and business operations.
