KEIGHLEY Bus Company is showing its green credentials.

Parent firm Transdev has revealed that vehicles which operate the popular Shuttle route, between Keighley and Bradford, will be converted to electric.

The move is part of a joint funding agreement with West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Transdev is recognised as an industry leader in the field of electric buses.

In 2018, it trialled eight electrically-run vehicles in Harrogate.

Now it is looking to introduce more than 70 fully-electric buses over the next three years, which will see the operator’s entire Harrogate fleet – plus the Shuttle vehicles – replaced.

Transdev made a successful bid to the Department for Transport Zero Emissions Bus Regional Areas Fund for the Harrogate scheme, and is investing £12 million itself to complete the transition.

Meantime, in the short term, the company is switching to using a revolutionary high-blend biodiesel fuel which will slash carbon dioxide emissions.

Transdev has partnered with Argent Fuels to switch the fleet across its ten operating centres in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

Vitto Pizzuti, Transdev operations director, says: "The biodiesel fuel we are using is a high-blend B15, produced as a solution of 15 per cent biodiesel and 85 per cent low sulphur diesel. In the summer, the biodiesel content will rise to 25 per cent, delivering even lower emissions in the communities we serve.

"Completing the switch to this lower-emission fuel is helping us to achieve environmental benefits now, and on a commercially-viable basis. Biodiesel is 100 per cent biodegradable and derived from renewable sources."

Argent Fuels estimates that based on an annual fuel consumption of 8.1 million litres, Transdev can expect to cut its emissions by around 3,612 tonnes of CO2 a year – equivalent to taking 1,745 cars off the roads.

Colin Duke, head of sales at Argent, says: "We are excited to embark on this partnership with Transdev to help it accomplish significant carbon reductions across its fleet. Transdev was looking for an immediate solution for its existing diesel fleet whilst it's on the road to electrification, and high-blend fuel provides exactly that.

"By blending our sustainable biodiesel with regular diesel, we can create a fuel that requires no engine modifications, whilst delivering significant reductions in CO2 emissions.

"As a renewable fuel producer and supplier, our vision is to help reduce the world’s carbon footprint, and so we are thrilled to be collaborating with Transdev on this journey."