Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to support local authorities to develop (a) carbon-neutral and (b) autonomous public transport systems.

The Transport Decarbonisation Plan set out how we will drive decarbonisation at the local level, outlining how a ‘place-based’ approach will help make our villages, towns and cities cleaner, greener, healthier and more prosperous places to live, work and enjoy

The Department for Transport is also committing record amounts of funding for decarbonising public transport. Since March 2020, the Department has invested over £3.5 billion in buses, including £129 million to support the transition to an entirely zero-emission bus fleet. This has helped deliver 4,000 zero-emission buses across the UK.

In March 2023, DfT announced the launch of the £381 million Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund. The LEVI Fund supports local authorities (LAs) in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. This will deliver tens of thousands of local chargepoints, ensuring the transition to electric vehicles (EV) takes place in every part of the country.

Additionally, £1.3 million of Government funding is supporting local authorities and regional transport operators to study how self-driving vehicle technology can improve local public transport in remote, rural, and urban areas. Studies will look into how self-driving vehicle technology could be cheaper, emit less carbon, and increase safety and security compared to other forms of mass transit. The grants will help local places to build evidence on utilising emerging transport technologies to decrease carbon emissions.