Funding boost for bus industry to improve air quality

Councils across the country will benefit from a £40 million funding boost as part of a government drive to put more low emission buses on the roads.

Funding will be awarded to 20 local authorities as part of the Clean Bus Technology Fund, which was launched in 2017 and is run by the Joint Air Quality Unit.

Speaking at the UK Bus Summit at London’s QEII Centre on 8 February 2018, transport minister Nusrat Ghani set out how the money will enable older vehicles to meet minimum emissions standards, and contribute to better air quality.

Nusrat Ghani said: “Buses and coaches are hugely important to those who rely on them and to the communities in which these people live and work.

“Road transport is going to change dramatically over the next couple of decades – and we have to make sure that the bus industry is ready to benefit from those changes.

“We have to move away from nose-to-tail car traffic at peak times, endless engine idling, stop-start travel and rising pollution and carbon emissions. Rather than contributing to the problem – buses and coaches very much form part of the solution.”

The money will allow councils to retrofit vehicles with technology to reduce tailpipe emissions of nitrogen dioxide, as part of a drive to help ensure that more buses and coaches can contribute to improving air quality in UK cities.