Salisbury Reds and Wiltshire Council have been successful in their bid for funding that will see a new fleet of 23 zero emission buses arrive in the city.
The Government has announced financial awards from its latest phase of the Department for Transport’s ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Regional Area) scheme.
This - combined with additional investment from Salisbury Reds and Wiltshire Council - means a total of £11.4m will be used to revolutionise the bus operator’s city network and Stonehenge Tour services.
Read more: 'Backstreet boozer' crowned CAMRA City Pub of the Year
“This is very exciting news, and it will put the Salisbury right at the forefront of sustainable transport,” said Salisbury Reds managing director, Andrew Wickham.
“We are bringing 23 new, all electric, double and single decker buses into our fleet - to join the three we already have - and these are set to arrive in early 2026."
Each bus will be equipped with tap on, tap off, technology for contactless payments, USB charging points for all seats, and next stop audio and visual announcements.
The buses will also have a fully accessible wheelchair ramp, audio loops, dementia-friendly internal colour schemes and CCTV for added security.
See also: Council still wants to redevelop Maltings but original proposal 'no longer viable'
Mr Wickham added: “Our Salisbury depot is already equipped to charge our three electric park-and-ride buses, and we will be upgrading the charging infrastructure to accommodate our new fleet.
“All of this will have a significant impact on Salisbury’s overall carbon emissions. It will also improve air quality here.
“The success of this bid is testament to the excellent working relationship we enjoy with Wiltshire Council - and it gives us a wonderful opportunity to make Salisbury’s transport the envy of other areas of the United Kingdom and, indeed, the World.
“All of this also ties in perfectly with our parent company the Go-Ahead Group’s Climate Change Strategy - which has an overarching target to become a net zero carbon business by 2045.”
Councillor Tamara Reay, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “It’s fantastic that our partnership with Salisbury Reds has attracted this huge investment into the city, which will both reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality – two key parts of our business plan.
“We have committed to improving our bus network across the county, and Salisbury, with its many bus routes in the city, is the perfect place to bring the first electric buses to Wiltshire.
“Our officers and colleagues from Salisbury Reds will now work on implementing this plan, starting with the installation of the bus charging infrastructure, and people will start to see these new electric buses in the city from 2026.”
The new fleet of electric buses is expected to arrive in February 2026.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel