£3 million green bus funding to help clean up town and city air
Nearly 150 buses across the country to be fitted with pollution-reducing technology.
More cleaner buses will be on the streets of towns and cities across England following the announcement of over £3 million funding today (11 March 2015).
Seven towns and cities have been awarded government grants to fit green technology to existing buses to help improve air quality and create a better environment for residents and visitors.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:
Fitting green technology to bus fleets will make town centres healthier and more pleasant places for everyone. This government has now funded the retrofitting of more than 1,650 vehicles in total, helping to cut emissions and supporting jobs and growth in our environmental technology industries.
Baroness Kramer said:
The £3 million funding announced today will help improve town centre air across England, benefitting residents and businesses. These grants continue this government’s commitment to lowering emissions from public transport and support the growth of green transport in the UK.
The funding is the latest tranche of support from the Clean Vehicle Technology Fund, which has retrofitted more than 1650 vehicles with green technology.
This round of awards will see technology suitable for the stop-start nature of bus travel fitted, including exhaust gas treatment and flywheel hybrid technology, developed originally for Formula 1. The successful projects will monitor the effectiveness of the technologies to provide vital information on the working life of green vehicle upgrades.
List of local authorities and grants awarded:
| Applicant | Technology | Number of buses | Grant (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Centro (West Midlands) | Exhaust gas treatment | 21 | 404,250 |
| Durham | Flywheel hybrid | 28 | 440,496 |
| Blackpool | Exhaust gas treatment | 30 | 500,000 |
| West Yorkshire | Exhaust gas treatment | 23 | 221,550 |
| York | Full electric drive system | 5 | 475,760 |
| Suffolk | Exhaust gas treatment | 26 | 494,000 |
| Plymouth | Flywheel hybrid | 14 | 484,921 |
| Total | 147 | 3,020,977 |
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