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“Zoomy And Bus Lightyear”: Drawings And Names Unveiled To Feature On Fleet Of New Electric Buses

Tees Valley Combined Authority | Published on: 11th April 2025

Young talents from across our region will see their work appear on dozens of new buses on our roads.

Pupils from three of our schools hosting winners of the Combined Authority’s ZEBRA competition saw a visit on Thursday (10 April) from one of the new fleet of 64 emissions-free buses Stagecoach are soon rolling out across the Tees Valley.

The competition saw youngsters aged 11 and under submit name suggestions and drawings with their own zebra design which will feature on the fleet.

There were a whopping 620 entries – making it a very tough job to pick out the 64 winners.

The winning 64 zebra drawings will now be showcased on the new buses – giving young artists the opportunity to see their work travel around the Tees Valley, with their chosen names also leaving a lasting mark.

Among the triumphant names were Wonder Runner, Bombastic Donkey Bus, Zoomy, Bus Lightyear and Frank.

Pupils from Linthorpe Community Primary School, in Middlesbrough, Kader Academy, in Middlesbrough, and Polam Hall School, in Darlington, all got to see one of the new buses up close this week.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “It’s been a tough job to sift through all the brilliant entries we received, but it was really heartening to receive so many from our talented young artists from Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.

“We want as many people as possible to get better access to schools, jobs and opportunities across our region – and it’s great we’ve been able to work with Stagecoach to fund these greener buses on our roads.

“Competitions like this are great to get our young people involved in what we’re doing on our network, to hear their voices to help shape what we need in future, and to allow them to make their mark.

“I’d like to thank Stagecoach, our brilliant schools and all our young students for helping make this a reality – and I can’t wait everyone to see these names and drawings on our roads!”

Last year, the UK Government funded the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme which provided £7.8million to introduce 62 new fully electrically operated vehicles to the Arriva and Stagecoach local bus fleet.

Stagecoach has since built on this funding to fully electrify their Stockton depot – making it the first fully electric depot in the North East. The roll out of the first of their single decker Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs) commenced earlier this year, with the depot aiming to be fully electric in late Spring. Further investment to introduce more ZEBs into Arriva’s Darlington depot is expected to be rolled out in early 2026.

Steve Walker, MD of Stagecoach North East, said: “We were delighted to work with the TVCA on the zebra competition, encouraging engagement with the local community and the children in the area.

“There were some fantastic entries and we can’t wait for customers to see them on the buses, pride of place next to the entrance doors.

The buses we have invested into for the Stockton depot, with the help of Zebra funding through TVCA, will allow us to deliver a fully electrified depot and network in the Tees Valley area this spring.”

Competition winners have received a prize package including free bus travel for a month, a goodie bag and framed picture of their winning image.