Post by cerridwen on Dec 5, 2009 16:38:14 GMT
£30m for Green Buses to save UK jobs and cut CO2
by ClickGreen staff. Published Thu 03 Dec 2009 21:24
Green Bus grant will support the purchase of low-carbon buses
Up to 1000 jobs will be secured and up to 10,000 tonnes of CO2 saved thanks to a grant of £30m to bus operators and local authorities
The winners of the Green Bus Fund - which aims to encourage and help bus operators and local authorities to buy new low carbon buses - will now be able to purchase 349 vehicles which will operate in most of our main cities and some rural areas by March 2012.
Industry estimates are that up to 1000 jobs will be safeguarded as a result of this investment.
Today's annoucement is part of the Department for Transport’s wider strategy to encourage a radical shift to low carbon transport and improve air quality in our cities.
Announcing the winning bids for the fund, Transport Minister Sadiq Khan said: "Both the environment and British industry is receiving a major boost from this £30m fund. It gives the initial support needed to stop the rise in bus CO2 emissions we've seen over the last ten years.
"It will also give UK bus manufacturers the certainty they desperately need to allow them to keep their skilled labour force and continue to lead the way in green innovation.
"Let’s be clear: doing nothing is not an option. Tackling vehicle carbon emissions is a question of when not if, and it's initiatives like this which will deliver the change we need."
The fund will enable bus operators and councils in every region across England to fund the up-front cost of buying low carbon buses. As more low carbon buses are produced and sold, costs will reduce.
This will encourage bus technology and will stimulate the market for low carbon buses, an industry in which the UK is a world leader.
Low carbon buses use at least 30 per cent less fuel and emit nearly a third less carbon than an equivalent conventional bus. They therefore have the potential to significantly reduce the impact of road transport on climate change. They will also meet the most stringent emission standards to help improve air quality.