The latest round of the Scottish Green Bus Fund has been announced with £3m available for bus operators to bring low carbon vehicles into their fleets.
Since it was first launched in 2010, the bus fund has had five rounds providing grant funding totalling almost £13m - enabling 269 new low carbon emission buses to be introduced by March 2016.
Low carbon vehicles, such as those using Euro 6 engines, can reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 30% compared to standard diesel vehicles.
Mr Mackay said: ‘Increasing the number of low carbon vehicles in the Scottish fleet achieves a number of government aims – helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality by accelerating the replacement of older, more polluting vehicles.
‘The newer greener vehicles can be used to attract more passengers and also benefit manufacturers by increasing demands for their more innovative products.’
Last year, First in Scotland was awarded £920,000 from the fund.
Fiona Kerr, managing director of First Glasgow, said: ‘We’ve invested over £14m in 75 new buses this year alone, of which £7.4m is for 47 state-of-the-art green vehicles, supported already by the Scottish Government's Green Bus Fund.
‘That investment is encouraging more people to use the bus, positively impacting congestion and the city’s CO2 emissions. The Fund is a great initiative and has certainly helped First Glasgow and other operators put greener, more fuel efficient vehicles on our roads.’
Further details and application forms see here
