UK, £92.7m funding package to deploy 186 electric buses in Sheffield

A £92.7 million investment will fund the introduction of 186 electric buses in Sheffield, in in South Yorkshire.

According to the BBC, the funding includes £33.4 million from the UK government and £58.3 million from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA). An additional £26 million from SYMCA will be used to upgrade infrastructure and prepare the Olive Grove depot to accommodate the new vehicles.

The government’s contribution represents 46 percent of a wider £73.2 million zero-emission bus funding package allocated across England and adds to a further £20 million investment announced in 2025, BBC reports. The city’s first e-buses were delivered in 2023.

Sheffield: e-buses and transition to frachise

The deployment of the new buses coincides with the planned transition of South Yorkshire’s bus network to a franchised system from September 2027, under which routes, timetables and fares will be decided locally.

The investment is part of the UK’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas programme, which has supported the introduction of more than 2,500 zero-emission buses nationwide, according to the BBC.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is quoted as saying: “This funding will replace polluting diesel buses with new electric vehicles that will make a real difference to people’s daily lives, better connecting them to work, to healthcare and to opportunity, whilst cleaning up the air we all breathe.”