Financing bus priority interventions in the West Midlands

West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has set itself the target of being net zero carbon by 2041. As part of this it intends for all buses operating on the A45 corridor to be zero emission by 2030. Under this initiative UKIB provided a £10m loan to WMCA to support investment in the A45 Sprint bus programme, which provides rapid public connections along currently congested corridors between Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham Airport and Solihull.  

UKIB’s finance has been deployed alongside Department for Transport (DfT) Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) grant funding to undertake bus priority interventions on the A45. This includes new priority lanes, signal upgrades, shelter enhancements, utility diversions and resurfacing. The infrastructure will facilitate more reliable, regular and predictable journey times with journey times savings of up to 22% on key routes.

The second phase of the scheme will also introduce hydrogen buses with refuelling stations at either end of the corridor. 

Eleanor Tay, Assistant Director of the UKIB Local Authority function, said:

Transitioning away from diesel to zero emission buses is key to decarbonising the transport sector, which itself is the UK’s largest source of green house gas emissions. The reduction in journey times through the prioritisation measures financed by the Bank will encourage modal shift, and so the programme will make a meaningful contribution to WMCA’s net zero ambitions.