Transport for London says that its entire 9,000-strong fleet of buses now meet or exceed Euro VI emissions standards and has hailed the news as “a major milestone” in cleaning up the capital’s air.
The standard is the same one which applies to vehicles entering the Ultra Low Emission Zone.
To help reach the achievement TfL has retrofitted older diesel buses and introduced hundreds of electric buses with plans to operate 2,000 all-electric buses by 2025.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “London’s toxic air is a public health crisis causing premature deaths and stunting the growth of children’s lungs.
“Today, as part of our work to tackle the twin dangers of toxic air pollution and the climate emergency, I am proud that the entire TfL core bus fleet now meets the strictest emissions standards.”
Claire Mann, Director of Bus Operations at TfL, added: “We’ve already seen how much retrofitted buses can clean up the air in busy London hotspots, and now with our retrofit programme complete on our core fleet the whole of the city will benefit from improved air quality.
“This programme has made our diesel buses as clean as they can be, but we are determined to go further.
“We will press ahead with our electrification programme and investments in other green technology to ensure all buses in London are zero emission by 2037 or hopefully, if additional financial support can be found, sooner.”
