The Transport Minister yesterday gave an update to Parliament on the Scottish Government’s plans to put in place low emission zones.
Graeme took the opportunity to ask the Minister about low emission buses.
Graeme Dey
Just over 360 buses have been replaced through the green bus fund, and in evidence to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee earlier this week, the minister indicated that some operators were replacing polluting vehicles at their own expense. Can he give a broad indication of the number of low-emission buses that he expects to be in service by 2020, taking account of new and, as a result of the emission abatement programme, retrofitted vehicles?
- Humza Yousaf:
I cannot give Mr Dey an exact number and I would not try to hazard a guess, but he is right to say that the £16 million-plus that we have spent on the green bus fund has allowed 362 buses to be greened. I have mentioned that another tranche is coming, and in the programme for government the First Minister promised to extend and expand the green bus fund, which will be welcome.
On top of that, we are working closely with the bus industry to see how we can create an abatement retrofit scheme for buses, which will incentivise retrofitting where that is appropriate. However, many bus companies have told me that they do not want money for retrofitting. They do not want to retrofit a 13-year-old bus; they would rather have assistance to buy a brand-new electric bus or a Euro 6 bus. We therefore have to ensure that the fund is flexible, so that bus companies that are at different stages, depending on the age of their fleet, can make use of it.
