A Harrogate-based bus operator is celebrating five million kilometres of travel for its electric bus fleet.
Transdev, which operates The Harrogate Bus Company and The Keighley Bus Company, is marking the achievement on World Environment Day today (5th June).
The regional transport operator has spent the last few years introducing all-electric buses across its networks, helping modernise services while reducing carbon emissions.
The milestone follows major investment in battery-powered vehicles, with 39 electric buses worth £21 million introduced to The Harrogate Bus Company fleet. The final vehicle entered service in January 2025.
A further 15 electric buses, valued at £6.6 million, joined The Keighley Bus Company fleet in November 2025.
Together, the vehicles have delivered more than four million electric kilometres in Harrogate alone, with the remaining distance completed by buses operating in Keighley.
By late June 2026, Transdev expects its electric buses to have travelled a combined five million kilometres — the equivalent of circling the Earth around 124 times.
The operator says the switch to electric vehicles is helping save thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.
In Harrogate, more than 5,200 tonnes of CO2 are now being saved annually, including around 2,000 tonnes from The 36 route alone.
According to Transdev, that annual carbon saving is comparable to powering 1,000 homes for a year, driving 13 million miles in an average petrol-powered car, or the annual carbon footprint of more than 420 people.
The company says all electricity used to charge its buses comes from renewable energy sources, including wind farms in Scotland.
Henri Rohard, Managing Director of Transdev Blazefield, said:
“As one of the first bus operators in the North of England to invest in innovative, sustainable, all-electric travel, we are delighted to be hitting such an important milestone so close to World Environment Day.
“To capture the carbon equivalent of over 80,000 trees, enough to cover eight football pitches, is a fantastic achievement – particularly for our drivers and engineering colleagues whose dedicated work has helped make this happen.”
Alongside its investment in electric buses, Transdev has introduced a range of other sustainability measures, including dual recycling bins on new vehicles, the use of high-blend biodiesel for school buses, carbon-offset paper for printed timetables and recycling rainwater for use in its bus wash facilities.
Harrogate Bus Company and Keighley Bus Company both operate as subsidiaries of Transdev Blazefield.
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