Air Quality high on the agenda at LowCVP's Low Emission Bus Workshop in Cardiff
Fri 20 July 2018
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Air Quality was top of the agenda at the LowCVP's fifth Low Emission Bus Regional Workshop which took place in Cardiff on 19 July. Presentations focused on current and future emission reduction strategies for bus fleets from Transport for London, Reading Buses and Brighton and Hove Buses.
Talking place at the Principality Stadium in central Cardiff, the Workshop looked to build on the momentum in Wales for tackling a bus market that has been in decline for a decade whilst also improving emissions and quality of service.
Over 80 attendees heard from the LowCVP on the national policy outlook in the UK for Low and Ultra Low Emission Bus technologies and fuels (which are detailed in the Partnership's free Low Emission Bus Guide.) Business Wales supported the event with details on how it is supporting small bus operators in Wales to improve general business practice and deal with new legislation on accessibility.
Transport for London provided a detailed account on how it is reducing PM and NOx emissions from fleets by retrofitting exhaust after-treatment systems that can achieve equivalent levels of emissions as brand new Euro VI buses. TfL also set out the vision for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover the whole of London and plans to move towards a fully zero emissions fleet by 2037.
Patrick Warner of Brighton and Hove Buses, part of the Go-Ahead Group, spoke about how investment in bus priority is key to successful bus operations and how successful Euro VI efficient diesels have been on a number of key routes in Brighton & Hove. Patrick also set out an vision for the fleet to shift entirely to Fuel Cell buses powered by renewable hydrogen, with Brighton setting out an ambitious target of a fully zero emissions bus fleet by 2030.
On display at the workshop was the world's first double-deck gas bus (CNG) from Scania. Related to this, John Bickerton of Reading Buses set out the case for bus operations running on biomethane, a fuel with potentially significant 'well-to-wheel' greenhouse gas savings compared with diesel. John highlighted the benefits of no requirement for AdBlue due to very low levels of NOx as well as lower down-time leading to cost savings compared with diesel.
The final session comprised a panel of EV manufacturers discussing various challenges to EV adoption and how the UK could learn from countries such as China, where mass adoption of EV buses has been occurring for the past few years. Councillor Michael Michael, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets and Recycling and Environment from Cardiff City Council, closed the workshop setting out the various aspects of Cardiff's strategies to improve air quality, install charging points for EVs and encourage cycling through a £10m investment in cycle lanes.
The workshop took place amoungst a flurry of activity in Wales around carbon and air quality following the publication of Cardiff's Transport & Clean Air Green Paper and the Welsh Assembly's consultations on proposals for A Clean Air Zone Framework for Wales and Achieving our Low-Carbon Pathway to 2030.
These plans detail the ways in which the Welsh Assembly and Transport for Wales are aiming to help regional and city councils tackle areas of poor air quality and provide cost effective ways to reduce emissions from transport in a country with the second highest rate of passenger cars per capita in the UK (Northern Ireland being first).
An example of this is the on-going trial in Cardiff of Volvo's single deck 7900 EV electric bus on route 6, using a conductive pantograph and OppCharge standard to charge the vehicle and allow for a fully zero emissions operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
NB LowCVP is running three more workshops across 2018/19 targeting areas with potential Low Emission or Clean Air Zones, including Birmingham, Bristol and Southampton.
Previous workshops have taken place in Glasgow, Leeds, Nottingham and Manchester.
The LowCVP is working with the Welsh Government on a number of topics, including how money can be better targeted in Wales, especially in areas of poor air quality.
LowCVP is also working with Transport Scotland and the Department of Transport to identify how policies such as the LCEB BSOG incentive can be revised to help encourage the uptake of low emission technologies and fuels.
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