Our future in 2022

Discover what’s next for bus travel this year

It’s an exciting time for our buses as we continue to do our best to provide a reliable, comfortable and safe service across the West Midlands and Coventry. But maybe most importantly of all, we are continuing our work to make National Express West Midlands the leader in sustainable transport.

Take a look below at just some of the things in store in 2022 and beyond.

Hydrogen buses

One of our biggest news stories of 2021 was that of Birmingham City Council’s highly anticipated hydrogen buses hitting the road at the end of the year. From 6th December, our 51 service became the first route in England outside of London to use hydrogen buses. With pure water vapour being the only thing produced from their tailpipes, these buses completely eliminate any exhaust or fumes.

With the aim of our entire bus fleet becoming zero-emission by 2030, we are working alongside Transport for West Midlands to add hundreds of electric and hydrogen buses on routes across Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country. Look out for more in your area in 2022!

Did you know - We have retrofitted hundreds of our older buses with new exhaust systems. So National Express West Midlands' entire 1600 fleet is currently 81% EuroVI or zero-emission. 

Coventry going fully electric

In July 2020, we sent our first electric buses out onto the road, delivering on our promise of never purchasing another diesel vehicle. By replacing just two of our popular routes in Birmingham and Coventry with electric buses, we were able to prevent over 1,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering into the atmosphere that year.

Now with the backing of a fifty million pound government investment, and a multi-million pound investment from National Express, Coventry’s entire fleet of buses is set to be replaced with new, all-electric vehicles. This is due to be completed by 2025 but we will already see significant changes to the city’s routes during 2023.

Not only will these plans have a massively positive effect on Coventry’s air quality and emissions in the area, but also reduce noise pollution too!

Did you know - If everyone switched just one car journey a month to a bus or coach instead, that would mean up to a billion fewer car journeys, saving two million tonnes of CO2!

To find out more about our environmental commitments, please visit our sustainable travel page and see how you can do your part too. Or if you want to give us some feedback on our new buses, join in the conversation on our social channels below.