Manchester's Mayor Burnham confirms electric bus order

Greater Manchester Mayor visits Northern Ireland-based Wrightbus

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham visited Northern Ireland to confirm an order for more electric buses from Wrightbus.

The Mayor revealed plans to buy 55 zero-emission electric vehicles to join the Bee Network, Greater Manchester’s joined-up public transport system.

The order is part of a £66m investment in the firm’s electric models, with the latest order pushing the total number of buses bought from Wrightbus to 293. 

Speaking from the Wrightbus’ headquarters in Ballymeena, Mayor Burnham said: “Through local control of the Bee Network, we’re proving that when you invest properly in public transport, you don’t just transform how people get around, you drive real economic growth.

“This latest order for 55 new Wrightbus vehicles is part of our commitment to buy from UK-based manufacturers wherever we can to support and protect jobs, and strengthen our homegrown industries.

“It was brilliant to catch up with team at the Wrightbus headquarters and see the new yellow buses on the production line, set to be serving our Greater Manchester communities from next month. We’re moving at pace to modernise our fleet and, thanks to partnerships to industries here in the UK, are on track for a fully electric bus network by the end of the decade.”

Wrightbus employs more than 2,100 people across its operations, with a further 7,500 jobs in the manufacturing supply chain. Wrightbus says every pound generated by them creates another £3 in the wider economy, and every job ensures another three jobs are safe across the supply chain.

John McLeister, Wrightbus sales managing director for UK and Ireland, said: “Orders like this aren’t just about creating jobs in Northern Ireland, this is about the ripple effect they can have across the whole UK supply chain, strengthening businesses like McKenna Brothers from Middleton in Manchester, who supply the blinds and screens for our buses.

“I’m glad to say that while some manufacturing sectors have been in decline in recent years, the UK still has a thriving bus industry of which we’re very proud to be part of, despite the constant threats of imports from overseas.”

Manchester’s commitment to buying British-built vehicles means Bee Network has also supported Scottish-based Alexander Dennis, with almost 500 buses made at the company’s Falkirk and Scarborough bases now serving Greater Manchester’s communities.

The city region’s investment-led Clean Air Plan is investing in cleaner buses, taxis and targeted traffic measures. By the end of this year, around half of buses operating from Greater Manchester’s large franchises will be electric – up from around 2% before buses were brought back under local control.

The Bee Network’s zero and low emission buses are expected to help save more than 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide – equivalent to the annual energy use of almost 5,000 homes or more than 99 million car miles driven – and 149 tonnes of nitrogen dioxide every year.