Campaigners accuse bus operators of ‘snubbing’ air pollution fund

Environmental campaigners have condemned as a “scandal” the lack of take-up by bus operators of a Scottish Government fund to clean up the most polluting engines.

Only £1.1 million of the £7.9m Bus Emissions Abatement Retrofit (Bear) programme was allocated in 2018-19 and the rest cannot instead be used this year. Grants reduced nitrogen dioxide and particulate emissions from 84 buses, including 36 from Edinburghbased Lothian Buses.

Other vehicles retrofitted 0 Andrew Jarvis hit out at ‘uncertainty’ over funding

included Xplore Dundee, West Coast Motors and Stagecoach.

A total of 42 buses were covered in an earlier phase of the programme.

It comes as part of a crackdown on diesel emissions to improve health in Scotland’s biggest cities.

Friends of the Earth Scotland (FOES) said the fund had been “snubbed” by many operators despite most of their buses not meeting the standard.

First Bus, Glasgow’s largest operator, said it had highlighted concerns about the viability of the scheme to the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency. Managing director Andrew Jarvis said: “The uncertainty and gap in funding has undoubtedly impacted on our retrofit programme.”