DfT awards £7m for introduction of 439 cleaner buses
Wed 06 January 2016
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The Department for Transport has announced the winners of the Clean Bus Technology Fund. £7m support is being awarded to 18 local authorities for the introduction of nearly 450 buses fitted with innovative technology to cut harmful emissions by up to 90%. Meanwhile, according to the latest industry statistics, more than half of all new buses and coaches registered in 2015 met the latest Euro-VI emissions standard.
The awards mean that the fund will support local authorities in retrofitting technology to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in pollution hotspots. Due to their high mileage and long operational life, introducing greener buses can significantly help air quality in town and city centres. The buses upgraded from this fund will complete more than a million journeys a year.
To win the awards, local authorities had to show evidence that the technology would reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by at least 50%. The buses will be fitted with exhaust gas treatment systems called selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and will be back on the roads after their upgrade. As part of the award, councils must continue to monitor the schemes and provide evidence of their effectiveness.
This new fund adds to the £20 million invested by the government in retrofit schemes and is in addition to significant match funding by local authorities and support from bus operators to improve air quality since 2011. This has ensured over 2,000 buses have already been upgraded across England to cut emissions.
Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: "Greener buses mean cleaner town and city centres and a healthier environment for everyone. The upgraded buses that will soon hit the roads in England continue our commitment to better air quality by investing in greener transport. By targeting pollution hotspots and backing the low-emission technology of the future, we are making the right long-term decisions to improve people’s lives."
Meanwhile, the SMMT reports that more than half (53.5%) of all new buses and coaches registered in 2015 met the latest Euro-VI emissions standard, marking a threefold increase compared with 2014.
The Society says that this boost in demand comes as the regulatory period of grace which has allowed operators to specify older technologies for their fleets is due to end. As a result, this modern clean vehicle technology is now being widely adopted across the UK. Operators in Glasgow and Birmingham renewed the largest proportion of their fleets with Euro-VI vehicles, with more than four out of every five new buses and coaches registered in these cities meeting the standard.
In London, which has the biggest fleet in the country, just over half of new vehicles featured Euro-VI technology.
The UK’s 88,638 buses and coaches deliver 5.2 billion passenger journeys across 18.1 billion miles each year, and adoption of the latest low emission vehicles is an essential part of integrated effort to improve air quality in Britain’s towns and cities.
The LowCVP's managing Director Andy Eastlake will be speaking at the second annual UK Bus Summit which will be held in London at the QEII Conference Centre, Westminster, on February 11 again supported by the Department for Transport. The event brings together operators, local authorities and the bus supply industry to encourage the industry to work together to stimulate patronage growth, and to raise awareness of the role the bus can play in stimulating the economy, getting people to work, reducing emissions, providing access for the elderly and tackling inequality.
This year the focus will also be on the devolution agenda, and proposals in the Buses Bill which would give combined authorities with an elected mayor powers to franchise bus services.
Andy will be speaking at the event about low emission buses of the future.
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