Brighton & Hove City Council has secured more than £250,000 in funding to retrofit a number of the city’s double-decker buses.
As part of a project to deliver cleaner air for the city, some 17 buses will be converted to meet cleaner Euro-VI emission standards.
The council said retrofitting the exhausts of older buses, registered eight to 10 years ago, would help cut greenhouse gases, including nitrous oxide, nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.
To avoid adding carbon to atmosphere, the council said it wanted to delay scrapping the vehicles and regarded the retrofits as a resourceful way of utilising existing bus assets not yet nearing end of life.
When the time comes to replace the vehicles, the council said it aimed to switch to zero-emission technology.
Amy Heley, chair of Brighton & Hove City Council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “This really is very good news and I’d like to thank officers for their hard work in their successful bid, which I understand was rated very highly.
“We have a very good bus network in the city, and we’ve seen passenger numbers continue to grow. Cleaner, low emission buses mean we can provide our residents and visitors with sustainable travel options and continue to improve our air quality.”
The newly converted buses travel through Brighton’s Air Quality Management Areas. These are designated areas, including several city transport corridors, where the council has committed to improve air quality.
Furthermore, the cleaner buses will join 73 buses previously converted under a similar scheme between 2014 and 2017, as well as 54 zero-emission buses that run through the city centre.
