Leeds City Council expects to allocate around £1.8m of grant funding to operators of non-scheduled coaches and buses to help them satisfy the city’s Clean Air Zone. Thus far it has paid £64,000 of that, for what is likely to be four vehicles.
While such a sum is not to be sniffed at, the general lack of joined-up thinking surrounding the retrofit of older coaches to Euro 6 levels means that the concept is not proceeding as quickly as it may otherwise have done.
Highways England has cash that is allocated to emission reduction. The agency is said to be looking into building fences next to motorways to funnel pollution away from adjacent areas.
It has been suggested that a chunk of this funding could be allocated to coach retrofit. The security of a significant financial inflow may act as a catalyst for retrofit technology companies to develop, test and accredit systems for more vehicle types.
As it is, those suppliers are cautious. That’s understandable. Even if they were not, the issue of testing and certification remains difficult. Demand outstrips the supply of suitable facilities. Lead times are long.
One certain thing is that the UK will in due course surely be dotted a Clean Air Zone in almost every city or, in Scotland, Low Emission Zones. The choice then will be simple: Satisfy Euro 6 or pay. The argument for not acting based on entering such areas only occasionally will long since have dried up.
Oh, for a cohesive strategy to deal with all of this in one go, rather than the current choke-sized chunks.
