Eighteen local authorities across England have been awarded close to £7m from the Government’s Clean Bus Technology Fund to help retrofit hundreds of vehicles and cut harmful emissions.
The grant funding from the Department for Transport is expected to retrofit 439 buses with technology to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in pollution hotspots.
Major winners of the £6.8m fund include Transport for London, which won £500,000 to convert 50 buses, Leeds City Council, which won £498,500 to convert 32 buses, Merseytravel, which secured £497,000 for 31 vehicles and Brighton and Hove City Council, which won £498,750 to convert 35 buses.
Transport minister Andrew Jones said: '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.’
The successful local authorities showed evidence that their plans would reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by at least 50% on the vehicles.
The buses will now be fitted with exhaust gas treatment systems called selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and as part of the award councils must monitor the schemes and provide evidence of their effectiveness.
