‘Green bus pioneer’ and Wrightbus owner Jo Bamford has launched FUZE, an asset finance company offering ‘the complete solution’ for the funding of zero-emission buses. Following the company’s successful launch of its Electroliner battery electric bus, and with single-deck iterations of both battery electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles set to be unveiled at the Cenex-LCV show later this month, Mr Bamford said it was the perfect time to provide a complete financial solution across the entire zero-emission ecosystem.

Wrightbus, which celebrates its 75th birthday this year, was the first manufacturer in the world to have hydrogen and battery-electric vehicles in production, with buses running throughout the UK.

Operating exclusively within the zero-emission PCV (passenger-carrying vehicle) sector, FUZE will design, deliver and finance the ‘seamless transition to a zero-emission fleet’ by offering funding on the vehicles, infrastructure, fuel (either hydrogen or electric) and a repair and maintenance package.

The company is headed up by Ben Werth, who has 26 years’ experience in the bus industry. He said: “Jo and everyone who works at Wrightbus know that Government grants alone are not enough for bus operators to meet their own publicly stated zero-emission targets.

There are many moving parts within the transition to ‘net zero’. To achieve this a collaborative partnership approach between manufacturers, funders and bus operators is required. FUZE, by being a specialised zero-emission-focused asset finance company, is an integral part of this process.

“Working in collaboration with sister companies RYZE hydrogen and Wrightbus we have developed a total cost of ownership model encompassing the infrastructure, vehicle, fuel and R&M fleet maintenance for the duration of the contract and then distilling this down into a single fixed monthly cost.”