Rock attends Siemens Mobility Charity Cricket Day in Goole

Some of the Rock team recently headed to Goole to take part in the Siemens Mobility Charity Cricket Day— a brilliant, feel-good event that brought teams together from across the industry to raise funds for local charities. We are happy to share that an amazing £24,000 was raised for local Goole charities.

The day was a great opportunity to connect with peers, enjoy some friendly competition, and support causes making a real difference within the local community.

A big thank you to Siemens Mobility for hosting such a fantastic event, and to everyone who took part and contributed to its success.

 

Recent articles

Rock Rail purchases a brand-new fleet of Talent 3...

Rock Rail and abrdn Core Infrastructure have announced an investment in Alstom-built 31 x 6-car Talent 3...

Rock Road enters the zero-emission bus industry with the...

The Mayor of London's Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF) has provided a debt and equity funding solution to...

Rock assets achieve top GRESB scores for sustainability performance

The latest GRESB results have been released, and we are delighted to share that two of our...

Driving Net Zero: How Rock Road 
Is Funding the UK’s Bus Transition

Accelerating the shift to clean, affordable, zero-emission transport

Year
2025
Category
Rock Road
Share

The Challenge

The UK bus network is at the heart of everyday travel – but over 30,000 diesel buses still need replacing to achieve a fully zero-emission fleet.

While around 5,000 battery-electric buses are already on the road, the high upfront cost of electric vehicles and depot electrification continues to slow the transition. Traditional funding routes — such as government grants or short-term bank finance – have helped start the journey but cannot support decarbonisation at the scale required.

A new, sustainable funding model was needed: one that could attract long-term capital, spread costs fairly, and give operators and authorities confidence in the future.

The Solution

In 2021, Rock launched Rock Road to deliver exactly that –  applying its proven infrastructure financing approach from the rail sector to the UK’s clean bus revolution.

Working with Aviva, the National Wealth Fund, and HSBC, Rock created a dedicated investment platform that channels infrastructure-style finance from pension funds and institutional investors directly into zero-emission bus projects.

This model provides:

Impact

The platform has already raised £100 million, with capacity to scale to £1 billion per year over the next decade – providing a consistent source of affordable capital for local authorities and operators.

Rock’s model ensures that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electric buses can now be lower than diesel equivalents, thanks to both cheaper long-term finance and reduced operating costs.

In London, Rock has financed 120 zero-emission buses under 7-year leases aligned with Transport for London’s contract lengths. This structure gives operators flexibility and certainty:

The Future

Rock Road’s ambition is to support the rollout of zero-emission fleets across the UK – helping local authorities and operators meet climate goals without overextending public budgets.

By leveraging limited government funding to attract large-scale private capital – for example, £10 million of public investment unlocking over £250 million in total funding – Rock’s model accelerates decarbonisation while keeping costs low for the public sector.

Our ambition is to make electric buses the default choice - not because of subsidy, but because they are the best economic and environmental option.
Louis Swindell
Commercial Director, Rock Road