Amid growing concerns for British bus builders, government hails £500m order for Wrightbus and announces UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel
Transport secretary Louise Haigh
Amid mounting political pressure to adopt a ‘Buy British’ rule in bus procurement, the government has announced a £500m electric bus order for Northern Ireland-based Wrightbus and plans to create a new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel to help the sector.
Up to 500 UK manufacturing jobs are set to be supported by the order from Go-Ahead Group for up to 1,200 zero-emission buses over the next three years. A new dedicated manufacturing line will be created at Wrightbus’s factory in Ballymena. The investment will also will also support an additional 2,000 jobs across the wider UK supply chain.
This investment is exactly kind we want to see as we grow the economy. One that creates jobs right across the country
Commenting on the order, chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This investment is exactly kind we want to see as we grow the economy. One that creates jobs right across the country.”
Transport secretary Louise Haigh has meanwhile announced plans to create a new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. This panel will bring together industry experts and local leaders to explore ways to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing, help local authorities deliver on their transport ambitions, and begin to seize opportunities to embrace zero-emission transport technologies.
Last month, bus builder Alexander Dennis announced a consultation process that could put 160 jobs at risk in Scotland and cited concerns over how government funding for zero-emission buses has favoured foreign competitors. Chinese manufacturers have won significant UK bus orders in recent years.
COMMENT: Has Haigh done enough to quell bus builder fears?
It doesn’t take the detective skills of Columbo to make the link between growing concerns about UK bus builders losing out to foreign competition and last week’s statement from Louise Haigh. The transport secretary hailed a government-backed £500m order from Go-Ahead Group for UK-built Wrightbus electric buses and announced plans to create a new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel “to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing”. Will this quell the fears of those who believe we consistently export subsidies and jobs?
UK bus builder Alexander Dennis had used diplomatic channels to express their concerns until recently but has now gone public. Paul Davies, ADL’s president and managing director, said last week that “the straw that broke the camel’s back” was 80% of Scotland’s second round of ScotZEB funding going to overseas competitors. He lamented that ADL is investing in new technology and complying with accreditions like the real living wage, but continues to lose out.
Bus operators see things through a different lens. They want a healthy domestic bus building sector, but as they make a once-in-a-generation transition to zero-emission vehicles, they also want access to the most affordable and durable products on offer. Chinese manufacturers are not just low-cost, high-volume suppliers – they offer proven products of increasingly comparable or better quality.
Haigh and her colleagues face a tricky balancing act.
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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The post Expert panel will help UK bus manufacturers first appeared on Passenger Transport.