Zero-Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) fund - engagement questionnaire
The Zero-Emission Bus Regional Areas fund (known as ‘ZEBRA’) is a fund provided by the Department for Transport and awarded to councils in England through a competitive bidding process.
The fund is designed to help bus operators, working in partnership with local transport authorities, to accelerate the transition to a zero-emission bus fleet in their areas by providing grant funding to help bridge the additional cost of zero emission buses compared to conventional diesel vehicles. The grant is awarded to the council, which is responsible for allocating the funding to the bus operator and goes towards the cost difference of zero emission buses over diesel equivalents, and associated infrastructure.
Subject to the successful award of funding, West Sussex County Council intends to enter into an agreement with Metrobus to fund buses for services operated from its Crawley depot and which extend into neighbouring council areas.
If we are awarded all the funding then routes that link towns to rural areas in West Sussex would be served with the new Hydrogen buses.
This builds on the investment already made in hydrogen technology for buses operated by Metrobus from their Crawley depot, including on the Fastway service to Gatwick Airport.
In addition to improving air quality and reducing carbon by producing zero emissions on the routes mentioned, the vehicles which would be introduced would also meet the requirements of ZEBRA funding which includes enhanced accessibility standards, including:
- Zero emissions buses run on Green Hydrogen to give cleaner air and de-carbonised travel
- More room for prams and buggies
- Audible and on-screen next stop announcements, with an additional screen for wheelchair and buggy users
- Hearing loop
- Flat floor from front to back of the bus
- Dementia-friendly floors
- Free WiFi
We would like to hear from individuals and representatives of groups to help us understand how this enhanced accessibility may benefit your community, what (if any) other benefits our bid may help to achieve for your community, and whether there is anything else we should consider. Please complete our brief questionnaire by Thursday 14 December 2023 11:55pm.
Alternatively you can email us at transporthub@westsussex.gov.uk
Please note
This is not a formal consultation but we do need your support and views as part of the consideration for our bid for funding.
We appreciate that this request is at very short notice. There has been a short timescale for putting together a bid.
If we win the bid there will be further engagement.
If you wish to make any comments beyond the deadline we would be pleased to have them. Please email us at transporthub@westsussex.gov.uk
Accessibility statement
If you need this information in an alternative format, please contact James Ironside by phone on 01243 777100 or email transporthub@westsussex.gov.uk and we will do our best to assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you an contact us on 18001 01243 777100.
For more information about the accessibility of this website, please see our Accessibility tab (opens in new window) at the foot of the page.
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Internet Explorer is no longer being updated by Microsoft. Please use one of the browsers below when completing the questionnaire to ensure it looks and works as it should. These are:
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