UK electric bus firm loses city contract to diesel competitor
According to a local news site, The Big Lemon has criticised local authorities for awarding the contract to Compass Travel, saying that its use of petrol and diesel vehicles violates Brighton and Hove Council’s net zero targets.
Ron Tanner, chair of The Big Lemon, said: “The council has said that the proposed solution includes a plan to phase out petrol / diesel vehicles over the course of the contract. But there is no evidence this plan exists and the council now refuses to confirm whether it does or not. What has the council got to hide?”
He added: “For nearly eight years Brighton and Hove has had a zero-emission bus service that is run by the community for the community[…] From April, the city will take a backward step, reverting to diesel buses.”
Brighton & Hove Council responded by saying it had carried out a “full and fair procurement process” and that Compass plans to deploy new buses with technology “designed to save fuel and significantly reduce emissions”. Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport, said this technology will comply with Euro 6 emissions standards. Compass Travel has not commented on which vehicles will be used in its fleet.
Muten said in a statement: “We understand that bidders who did not succeed in the procurement process will be disappointed, but the council is obliged to award the contract to the most economically advantageous tender.” Muten added: “The council also continues to support the transition to zero emissions vehicles and is allocating almost £3M of the government’s Zebra2 grant fund, together with £550,000 from the council’s own resources, to the transition to zero emissions fleets in Brighton & Hove.”
A non-profit Community Interest Company, The Big Lemon launched the UK’s first solar-powered electric bus in 2017 and has since been converting its entire fleet to battery power.
However, in 2024, Brighton & Hove Council reportedly had to intervene in The Big Lemon’s operations amid cancellations and late running services. It provided extra funding for the business amid the issues, which The Big Lemon attributed to a problem with one of the company’s vehicle suppliers. Around the same time, the Council launched the retendering process in question.
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