Businesses to share £9.75m to reduce bus emissions

The Scottish Government has awarded 19 coach and bus companies a share of £9.75 million to allow 594 buses to be retrofitted to comply with low emission zones.

(PA)

Just under 600 buses will have low emissions exhausts retrofitted in an effort to reduce harmful emissions and air pollution, after a government cash boost.

The Scottish Government has awarded 19 coach and bus companies a share of £9.75 million to allow 594 buses to be retrofitted to comply with low emission zones.

Specialist exhaust technology will be installed to help reduce nitrogen dioxide and particulate emissions from older buses and coaches.

Transport Scotland and Energy Saving Trust will also be monitoring emissions performance from the retrofitted vehicles to ensure they perform effectively over time.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: “The Bus Emission Abatement Retrofit Fund benefits Scottish retrofit businesses, our wider bus sector and helps protect public health.

“It’s a high-impact fund which provides a powerful combination of immediate economic stimulus to our valued bus and coach sector and supply chain, whilst supporting our strategic air quality objectives by helping operators to comply with forthcoming Low Emission Zones.

“Each fully-occupied bus in our towns and cities can remove the equivalent of 75 cars from the road.

“That is why buses are part of the solution to tackling congestion, improving air quality and reducing transport emissions – and it is why we are also funding bus priority infrastructure and providing additional support through our Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme for greener and cleaner buses.

“For the lifespan of the current fleet, retrofitting offers immediate air quality benefits, making the vehicles compliant with the proposed emission standards of Scotland’s Low Emission Zones – which are vital in our efforts to protect public health from the harmful effects of air pollution in our city centres.”

A number of Scottish businesses which specialise in exhaust retrofitting will also benefit.

Claire McVicar, environmental officer at Lothian Buses, said: “Retrofitting a large number of vehicles will help us to continue to reduce our overall emissions and ensure that we are playing our part in improving the air quality in and around Edinburgh for the benefit of residents, workers and visitors to our capital city.”