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New grant announced to
make buses 'greener and cleaner'
31 buses in the Liverpool City
Region (Merseyside) (LCR) are set to go green thanks to a grant of nearly ½
a million pounds from the Department for Transport, under its Clean Bus
Technology Fund.
The £497,000 award will be managed by Merseytravel and will pay for the
buses to be fitted with Micro Hybrid technology systems, which can reduce
their harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels; a major pollutant; by up to 50%.
The technology will be fitted to vehicles belonging to local operators Avon
Buses, Cumfybus and Halton Transport, operating on routes in areas currently
declared as Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA). Halton Council will also
receive funding for an additional NOx Analyser to be installed within one of
the Halton AQMAs, which will monitor NOx levels in the local area and help
to provide more accurate localised air quality data.
Marshall Vickers, Managing Director of Cumfybus, who will have the systems
fitted to 14 of its buses under the scheme said:- "As a local family
firm, we want to do our bit both for our customers and the communities we
serve. Helping reduce the harmful emissions from our vehicles is one way we
can make a difference."
Councillor Ron Abbey, Merseytravel Lead Member for Bus added:-
"Getting people on the bus reduces car miles, reduces congestion and helps
the environment in itself. However, that's not the end of the story; we want
to ensure our buses make the most of new technologies to deliver the most
environmentally friendly transport network possible."
The Clean Bus Technology Fund builds on the previously successful Clean
Vehicle and Clean Bus Bids in 2014 and 2013 which have already seen a total
of 96 buses retrofitted with NOx reduction technology.
Over the past 5 years Merseytravel, in co-operation with bus operators, has
been involved in the introduction of a number of low emission vehicles
ranging from entire bus fleets operating on a bio-diesel mix to the
introduction of diesel electric (hybrid) vehicles. Together with retrofitted
vehicles these lower emission buses make up almost 90% of the fleet in 2015.
Any improvements to the LCR bus fleet to help reduce emissions will have a
significant improvement on air quality, particularly in the AQMAs where
buses are significant contributors to pollution levels, but also across the
wider LCR, which will reduce background levels of pollutants and in turn
contribute to air quality improvements.
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