Local authorities share £5m fund for greener buses

Eleven local authorities in England have been awarded grants to upgrade almost 400 local buses in a bid to reduce pollution. They were invited to bid for funds worth up […]

Eleven local authorities in England have been awarded grants to upgrade almost 400 local buses in a bid to reduce pollution.

They were invited to bid for funds worth up to £1 million from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Clean Bus Technology Fund launched earlier this year.

A total of 31 local authorities applied for grants to support upgrading buses with pollution-reducing technology on the routes where air quality does not meet European Commission standards. Only 11 authorities were, however, chosen to upgrade 392 older buses with five types of technology.

Local Transport Minister Norman Baker said: “The funding we are providing will help clean up emissions from older buses in some of our most polluted urban areas, with all the health benefits that brings. This will lead to real improvements in air quality on some of our most polluted streets as well as helping to stimulate jobs and growth in the bus and environmental technology industries.”

The winners include Southampton City Council, Greater Manchester and Suffolk County Council.

Earlier this year Mayor of London Boris Johnson officially opened a manufacturing plant in Northern Ireland where part of the new hybrid buses for London is being built.

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