Harrogate Bus Company embraces pioneering switch to biodiesel to cut carbon emissions by thousands of tonnes

Its parent company, Transdev is already a pioneer in electric bus technology, after it became the first operator in Britain to introduce eight ‘opportunity charged’ Harrogate Electrics buses in 2018.

At that time, it was the only bus operator in Yorkshire to win funding of £2.25 million from the Government to create Britain’s first Low Emission Bus Town.

Now the forward-thinking Harrogate-based operator is partnering with fuel provider Argent Fuels to switch its entire fleet across 10 operating centres to high blend biodiesel fuel.

Transdev Operations Director Vitto Pizzuti said: “The biodiesel fuel we’re now using across our fleet is a high-blend B15 formation, produced as a solution of 15% biodiesel and 85% low sulphur diesel. In summer, the biodiesel content will rise to 25%, delivering even lower emissions in the communities we serve.

"Biodiesel is 100% biodegradable, less toxic than table salt and is derived from renewable sources.

“Completing our switch to this lower emission fuel is helping us to achieve environmental benefits now, and on a commercially viable basis.

Harrogate Bus Company has also been trialling electric vehicles built in Britain by Alexander Dennis in partnership with Chinese firm BYD on its busy route 1 between Harrogate and Knaresborough, plus alternatives from rival makers Mercedes and Yutong.

The trial results are set to inform the type and specification of 71 fully electric buses to be introduced in a jointly funded programme over the next three years, which will see the operator’s entire fleet based in Harrogate replaced by new zero emission electric vehicles.

In May 2022, Transdev’s bid to the Department for Transport’s Zero Emissions Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) fund, supported by a new partnership between its parent Transdev Group and North Yorkshire Council, was approved.

Together with Transdev’s own £12 million commercial investment, the funding will enable full electrification of its entire Harrogate service bus fleet, plus supporting infrastructure at its Starbeck headquarters, where its diesel fuel tank will be removed and replaced with electric charging points.