More use of public transport nationwide has got to be part of decarbonising (and cleaning up city atmospheres.)
It is worrying when the bean-counters drive the decisions on how much and the quality of provision, so today's news is even worse: https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ding-looms
UK government pushed to ‘come clean’ as decision on bus funding looms... Labour fears public grants to operators will be slashed on Wednesday prompting cuts to up to one-in-three bus services
Almost one in three services are at risk, the industry and local authorities have warned, with the Treasury refusing to confirm if it will continue grant funding to support operators whose bus revenues have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels...
In a letter to the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, Haigh said routes could be axed just as passenger numbers begin to recover, “locking in declining services for years to come”.
She said Shapps should “come clean on wider long-term funding cuts” for the Bus Back Better strategy announced last year by Boris Johnson, which included £3bn to transform buses.
The improvement fund has been reduced to just over £1.2bn, with the government counting emergency support grants to the industry as part of the total figure...
so the improvement budget has been halved, and lots of that has already been handed out!
Really the Treasury has got to be given responsibility for the carbon budget as well as simple money, otherwise they will prevent any chance of progress.
A
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Boris Johnson’s promise to build 4,000 zero-emission buses makes zero progress
Only £320m of £4bn needed to build flagship vehicles for ‘green transport revolution’ has been committed by chancellor Rishi Sunak
One of Boris Johnson flagship “green” pledges – to provide 4,000 new zero-emission, British-built buses by the end of 2024 – has been cast into serious doubt by UK manufacturers who say they have yet to receive any orders for new vehicles.
/Snip/
only a fraction of the necessary funds has been allocated, with £320m being committed by chancellor Rishi Sunak in last autumn’s spending review, towards an estimated total of £4bn needed to put 4,000 green buses on the road.
UK manufacturers say that unless the funds are committed and orders made soon, there will not be time to get the new vehicles into service in time to meet Johnson’s promise.
Paul Davies, managing director of bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, which is Britain’s biggest bus builder and the world’s largest manufacturer of double-decker buses, said: “The problem is that we are running out of time to deliver on what was promised. If everything is left until the last minute, the danger is we have to look to overseas companies for quicker and cheaper options when the intention was that they would be British-made.”
/snip/
Shadow buses minister Sam Tarry MP said ministers had misled parliament about the programme. “British manufacturers tell me they haven’t received a single order. We’re now more than two years on from when the prime minister promised there’d be 4,000 zero-emission buses on our roads by 2025.
“They’re clearly well off target and this is yet another sign that they’re not serious about their commitment to decarbonise our economy and meet our net zero target by 2050, and they’re not serious about supporting British manufacturing and jobs.”
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How many of those 4000 EV buses were planned for TFL ,Anyone know?
(As of March 2021, the London Buses fleet total of 9,068 buses includes 3,884 hybrid buses, 485 electric buses, and two hydrogen buses)
1906 ripplewatts @wind Turb-ine-erry
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The Campaign for Better Transport said that of the 38,000 buses nationally, currently only 12% are hybrid and 2% are zero-emission (4% in London and 1% in the rest of England).
In the recent levelling up white paper, ministers said that “over £500m is being spent this parliament on delivering zero-emission buses.”
The reference to "Levelling up" suggests it is not just for London, but what gets me is
Buta Atwal, chief executive of another major bus manufacturer, Wrightbus, said he had been encouraged by Johnson’s announcement two years ago but had been left disappointed not to have heard any positive news about orders since. “We invested heavily in zero-emission technology on the basis of the government’s plans. so we are looking forward to the first order.”
which is yet another government own-goal, encouraging British industry to invest - then leaving them high and dry with no income to offset the preparations they made. Whose side are they on? It's not surprising that companies here go bust and are snapped up for a song by foreign firms.
2.0 kW/4.62 MWh pa in Ripples, 4.5 kWp W-facing pv, 9.5 kWh batt
30 solar thermal tubes, 2MWh pa in Stockport, plus Congleton and Kinlochbervie Hydros,
Most travel by bike, walking or bus/train. Veg, fruit - and Bees!
Is there any staff to build these buses? Where ever i look there seems to be labour shortages or am i not looking in the right place. The economist would say why build something that you can buy for less and use the resources to do something which is profitable. However i do wish it was economic to build our own buses and perhaps we should be asking why it is not so.
The cost of the batts is the major cost so perhaps we are holding back until we can produce our own and then the UK manufacturing % will become large enough to define it as UK manufactured for the purpose of exportation? and secure more UK jobs that way that dont require handouts.
There is no way the tube line will close it is just political posturing to decide what % is paid by the general taxpayer and what % by the users and that becomes real political-exit quick.
Ken wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 11:28 am
Is there any staff to build these buses? Where ever i look there seems to be labour shortages or am i not looking in the right place. The economist would say why build something that you can buy for less and use the resources to do something which is profitable. However i do wish it was economic to build our own buses and perhaps we should be asking why it is not so.
The cost of the batts is the major cost so perhaps we are holding back until we can produce our own and then the UK manufacturing % will become large enough to define it as UK manufactured for the purpose of exportation? and secure more UK jobs that way that dont require handouts.
There is no way the tube line will close it is just political posturing to decide what % is paid by the general taxpayer and what % by the users and that becomes real political-exit quick.
What do you think is "profitable?" Financial services? Perhaps building buses is profitable - if there are companies with the long-term expectations of using them.
Did you read the article?
Paul Davies, managing director of bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis, which is Britain’s biggest bus builder and the world’s largest manufacturer of double-decker buses, said: “The problem is that we are running out of time to deliver on what was promised. If everything is left until the last minute, the danger is we have to look to overseas companies for quicker and cheaper options when the intention was that they would be British-made.”
Buta Atwal, chief executive of another major bus manufacturer, Wrightbus...
might reassure you.
2.0 kW/4.62 MWh pa in Ripples, 4.5 kWp W-facing pv, 9.5 kWh batt
30 solar thermal tubes, 2MWh pa in Stockport, plus Congleton and Kinlochbervie Hydros,
Most travel by bike, walking or bus/train. Veg, fruit - and Bees!
1906 ripplewatts @wind Turb-ine-erry
It's the wifes Tesla 3 (she lets me wash it)
Leaf 24
Celotex type insulation stuffed most places
Skip diver to the gentry
Austroflamm WBS
A finger of solar + shed full more
The last few sentences of that article are revealing:
Geely took ownership of the London Taxi Company in 2013 when it paid £11m for the firm’s previous owner Manganese Bronze after it collapsed into administration.
The demise of Manganese Bronze followed the emergence of a fault with the steering box on some TX4 cabs, forcing 400 of them to be recalled.
The faulty part was made by Geely, which owned 20% of Manganese Bronze before it bought the firm out of administration.
Fishy.
2.0 kW/4.62 MWh pa in Ripples, 4.5 kWp W-facing pv, 9.5 kWh batt
30 solar thermal tubes, 2MWh pa in Stockport, plus Congleton and Kinlochbervie Hydros,
Most travel by bike, walking or bus/train. Veg, fruit - and Bees!