Second Low Emission Bus Zone introduced in London

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has delivered the second in his network of 12 Low Emission Bus Zones in one of the most polluted areas of London, Brixton Road.

The new clean bus zone, running from Brixton Hill via Stockwell Road and Streatham High Road to Streatham Place, carries 130,000 passengers a day on a total of 450 buses on 23 scheduled routes.

The route travels close to a number of primary schools, meaning more than 1,000 local children are now breathing cleaner air, as well as past Brixton Tube station which sees over 50,000 passengers a day enter and exit via Brixton Road.

From today, only buses that meet the toughest emission standards will be permitted to run within the Brixton Low Emission Bus Zone.

Every bus on the route meets Euro VI standards through a combination of new and retrofitted buses.

More than 200 of the buses are new double-deck Euro VI hybrid buses, there are 13 new single-deck cleaner diesel buses, and 230 buses have been retrofitted to meet a Euro VI emission standard.

It is the second of 12 new Low Emission Bus Zones to be introduced in heavily polluted areas.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “To tackle this lethal air we need a dramatic reduction in harmful emissions from polluting buses and older more polluting vehicles. I am committed to making our bus fleet the greenest in the world and today I’ve continued to deliver on that pledge by launching the second of my Low Emission Bus Zones in Brixton.

“I have tasked TfL with transforming the public transport network, which includes removing or retrofitting the oldest, dirtiest buses on our streets to cut harmful emissions. We’ve already seen a massive improvement in air quality along the Putney route. I’m confident that will be replicated here in Brixton and along the 10 other routes where we are introducing Low Emission Bus Zones.

“I’m working relentlessly to do everything in my power to clean up London’s air. Now, the Government needs to help tackle the challenge we face. Rather than preventing the capital from accessing the new National Clean Air Fund, ministers should be delivering a vehicle scrappage fund to get the filthiest cars off our roads. Londoners are living through a public health crisis and need a government which will take action on the toxic air we breathe.”

Ten more Low Emission Bus Zones will follow Brixton and Putney. The remaining zones will be delivered by 2020, fulfilling the Mayor’s manifesto commitment.