UK-based initiative to set up funding platform for electric buses
The partnership, alongside a debt facility from UK Infrastructure Bank and HSBC UK, has announced that it will commit an initial £100 million to fund up to 250 zero-emission buses and associated infrastructure. Initial acquisition plans are already in place, as the partnership signed a deal to fund 60 battery-electric buses that will be leased to The Go-Ahead Group and deployed in London.
The Rock Road platform is owned by Rock Rail and Aviva and aims to bring together organisations with extensive experience and a strong alignment of investment principles. Rock Rail can call upon its experience in the rail sector for a proven funding model that attracts long-term institutional capital and is well-placed to support the introduction of bus franchising.
“The vast majority of the UK’s 36,500 buses are still diesel powered and so replacing these with a cleaner, greener alternative will be key in decarbonising the transport sector and achieving UK net zero targets. This will require a massive scale up of investment,” said John Flint, CEO of UK Infrastructure Bank, adding: “The Bank’s financing has been crucial in helping to bring the innovative Rock Road leasing scheme to the market, which will reduce cost for operators and help improve the uptake of zero emission buses across the UK.”
At the beginning of 2024, the UK Infrastructure Bank had also made headlines when it helped fund AESC’s second battery factory in the UK. It has been a while since we reported on Aviva’s activities, however, back in 2022, the company made some major investments with the charging infrastructure manufacturer Connected Kerb, as well as Zenobe.
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