£2.2 million bus emission funding for Bristol and Bath

As part of the government’s Clean Bus Technology Fund, bus services across Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire will receive a £2.2 million funding boost to cut emissions and help to improve air quality.

Benefiting 12 routes, the money will be used to retrofit emissions reductions technology on 81 buses that run on the routes, which cover some of the most polluted roads on the wider network. All 81 buses will be upgraded from Euro IV/V standard to Euro VI, with new engines to be installed on 12 of these buses.

Mhairi Threlfall, cabinet member for Transport at Bristol City Council, said: “It is great news that we have been successful in our bid for this funding, which will help us to improve air quality across the region by making vital environmental upgrades to the bus fleet. We will be prioritising these upgrades on the bus routes that we know to be the most polluted with levels of harmful air pollutants that are far too high. This will form part of our continuing efforts to turn around the issues with air quality in our area and make Bristol a healthier place to live and work. I look forward to seeing this new technology being brought into action over the next year.”

Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council, in partnership with First Bus, were also successful in securing £4.8 million of grant funding last year, which will unlock up to £30 million of private investment from First to introduce up to 110 new gas-powered buses into the fleet.