Action is being taken to ensure major bus orders by larger regions do not push the Yorkshire Coast down the waiting list for new British-built vehicles.
Thousands of local jobs will be protected if regional transport networks commit to buying British-built buses.
York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith is continuing his efforts to ensure that any move towards bus franchising across the UK involves authorities buying new vehicles from domestic manufacturers, such as Scarborough's Alexander Dennis.
The push comes amid growing concerns that massive, uncoordinated orders from major cities could overwhelm domestic production lines, leaving smaller regions waiting years to upgrade their fleets.
Coordinated procurement strategies will prevent a backlog and support local economies.
York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith said:
"The transport minister responsible for buses has regularly convened operators, manufacturers and the mayors around the table, particularly looking at procurement of buses in in in franchised areas and how they can work with British manufacturing and obviously we have one of those in the patch.
So it's very much high up on the Prime Minister and the minister for transport agenda. We just need to keep pushing forward that we have a such a large manufacturing our patches is key to local economy and creates thousands of jobs I would imagine how they can play a part in that procurement process."
A collective approach to ordering will guarantee a steady supply of vehicles across the country.
Without careful management, simultaneous demand from multiple newly franchised transport networks could create severe bottlenecks for UK manufacturers.
David Skaith said:
"I think there the a concern at times, not just from the producer of the buses, but areas that if there was a big procurement exercise, and say London came in and bought all their buses, then everyone else wouldn't have the capacity and such like. And everyone else that also wants to do the same, we could be waiting years, quite frankly.
So that whole procurement process, of how it works is a collective, so it's like areas that do want to do it don't miss out because somewhere like London or Greater Manchester who would buy out of the buses. But then also, in that process, of areas that wanted to also join in, that would be waiting decades for for that as well."
The Scarborough manufacturing facility employs around 700 people and remains a crucial part of the world's largest manufacturer of double-decker buses.
Taxpayer-funded transport networks across the country will undergo major structural changes, with significant bus contracts due to go live in early 2027. Domestic bus manufacturers will receive stronger government backing against overseas competition, following new commitments made in Parliament.
A new national procurement policy statement is expected to include social value and reward local employment and skills development.
It's expected that the wider UK bus manufacturing sector would benefit from the changes after facing intense pressure in recent years, with industry leaders warning that half of all new buses now come from overseas.
Heavily subsidised Chinese electric bus manufacturers have previously created a competitive imbalance in the market, threatening domestic jobs.
The shift in policy follows consistent campaigning from local leaders and Scarborough and Whitby MP Alison Hume, who has frequently championed the coastal town as a centre of excellence for bus manufacturing.
A £38 million government investment will bring 319 new green buses to communities across England by Spring 2027.
British factories will produce around 60 percent of these government-supported zero-emission buses to spearhead growth across the sector.
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