A £7.8M fund is in place to help bus operators comply with low emission zones (LEZs).
The second phase of the Bus Emissions Abatement Retrofit Programme aims to significantly off-set the financial costs associated with the installation of accredited retrofitting technology to reduce emissions, and will contribute to the fitting of technology to monitor air quality from buses.
The first phase of the BEAR Programme in early 2018 made £1.6m available to retrofit technology, to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions from older diesel buses to achieve the latest Euro 6 emission standard.
Additionally, a total of £518k has been awarded to Dundee City Council, City of Edinburgh Council and Glasgow City Council to support work to introduce LEZs.
Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson commented:
‘By working in partnership with bus operators, we are already seeing them invest in new vehicles and this second phase of retrofit funding will help extend the life of around 500 older buses, making them part of the solution to help
improve the quality of the air in our towns and cities.
‘This funding is in addition to the successful Scottish Green Bus Fund which has provided more than £17m across eight rounds of funding to introduce over 360 modern buses across the country.’
