Skip to main content

London’s first Low Emission Bus Zone to tackle toxic air

London’s first Low Emission Bus Zone has been launched in Putney High Street, one of the most polluted areas of the capital. The clean bus zone, which runs a total of 145 buses on seven scheduled routes, will now be serviced by cleaner buses in a move to cut harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The route is the first of 12 new Low Emission Bus Zones to be introduced at air quality hotspots. The zones represent the most extensive network of clean buses of any major world city. The routes are one‎ p
March 15, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
London’s first Low Emission Bus Zone has been launched in Putney High Street, one of the most polluted areas of the capital. The clean bus zone, which runs a total of 145 buses on seven scheduled routes, will now be serviced by cleaner buses in a move to cut harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

The route is the first of 12 new Low Emission Bus Zones to be introduced at air quality hotspots. The zones represent the most extensive network of clean buses of any major world city.

The routes are one‎ part of a major transformation the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has asked 1466 Transport for London (TfL) to deliver to reduce emissions from London’s bus fleet, including the phasing out of diesel-only buses and a commitment to purchase only hybrid or zero-emission double-decker buses from 2018.

Only buses that meet the toughest emission standards will be permitted to run within the Putney Low Emission Bus Zone. Putney High Street will also have effective bus priority measures in place to keep bus delays to a minimum and reduce unnecessary pollution caused by sitting in traffic.

A report recently released by the Mayor showed that every London borough has recorded illegally high levels of air pollution in the last two years, with Wandsworth having some of the highest levels. Wandsworth has exceeded the annual mean limit for NO2 pollution at five out of six of their automatic monitoring stations, with the sites on Putney High Street recording levels more than double the legal limit.

Eleven more Low Emission Bus Zones will follow Putney, with the Brixton and Streatham zone set to be introduced in October. The remaining ten zones will be delivered by 2020.

Related Content

  • London’s mayor launches bus safety programme
    February 2, 2016
    The Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) have launched a world-leading programme to drive major improvements in safety across London's bus network, creating a six-point programme to reduce collisions and improve safety. The programme will bring together the newest technology, training, incentives, support, reporting and transparency right across the network, contributing to TfL's work towards meeting the mayor's target of halving the number of people killed or seriously injured on the capital's
  • Cycling in London grows by ten per cent
    February 2, 2015
    London’s cycling revolution accelerated last year, with 2014 seeing new records for usage of the capital’s cycle hire scheme and overall cycling on the Transport for London (TfL) road network. Across the TfL road network, London’s main roads, cycling levels in quarter 3 of 2014/15 (14 September to 6 December) were ten per cent higher than in the same quarter the previous year and the highest since records began in 2000. It was the fifth record quarter in a row. By the end of 2014/15, TfL forecasts a 12 p
  • FTA urges government to rethink Clean air Zones
    December 21, 2015
    The UK’s Freight Transport Association (FTA) says exempting cars from the proposed Clean Air Zones in five English cities is a missed opportunity to significantly improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham and Derby would be required to introduce Clean Air Zones to reduce concentrations of nitrogen dioxide by 2020 at the latest.
  • California to require all bus fleets to be zero-emission by 2040
    December 18, 2018
    The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved a statewide regulation which will require public transit agencies to gradually transition to fully zero emission buses by 2040. The Clean Transit regulation is expected to help transit agencies reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19 million metric tonnes, nitrogen oxides by 7,000 tonnes and particulate matter by 40 tonnes from 2020 to 2050. CARB says the regulation will improve air quality, especially in low-income communities. It could also help