NOTTINGHAM is set to buy 15 new electric buses – giving it the largest fleet in Europe.
The city council is set to approve plans to spend £2.23 million on the new buses on Tuesday, which would give it a total of 43 electric buses.
Since 2009, the city has spent nearly £6 million – split between the Department for Transport and the city council –on electric buses.
Jane Urquhart, portfolio holder for planning and transportation at the council said: "Nottingham leads the way in sustainable transport.
"It is the first city in the UK to have tough environmental standards for all buses entering the city centre and the only city trialling buses powered by ethanol produced from fully-sustainable sources.
"The purchase of these electric buses will help reduce carbon emissions and demonstrates our commitment to sustainability.
"A lot of people talk about reducing emissions but our strong commitment to it will mean we have what we believe to be the largest electric bus fleet in Europe. This is something of which Nottingham can be very proud."
The new buses will be used on the Citylink park-and-ride routes as well as the Worklink services, with the other 30 electric buses currently being used on the Medilink and Locallink services.
As well as the £2 million coming from council coffers, the Department for Transport has chipped in £1.52 million from its Green Bus Fund for the scheme.
Preliminary analysis of the first-quarter operating figures for the Centrelink service between September and December last year show carbon savings of four tonnes when compared to operating the service with diesel buses, while fuel costs are 31 per cent of the diesel equivalent.
A fully-charged bus can cover around 60 miles before it needs to be recharged.
The electric buses can be charged as quickly as 90 minutes using fast chargers, but it currently takes up to eight hours.
A council spokesman added that the next stage of the project was the installation of fast-charging technology.
A project is under way to install fast chargers at Broadmarsh Bus Station, various bus operator garages and Queens Drive park-and-ride site.
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