£1.9m investment to retrofit Sheffield buses with emission reduction tech

Sheffield is set to become a cleaner and greener city by the end of the year as Sheffield City Council announces record new investment in the city’s bus fleet.

£1.9 million will be invested to retrofit 117 buses across the Sheffield network with emission reduction technology.

Once upgraded, the buses will produce less NOx emissions per kilometre than many types of modern car. The retrofit will reduce NOx emissions of buses to Euro VI standard, complying with standards set out in the council’s own ambitious Clean Air Strategy.

Upgrade work will be prioritised on the bus routes that travel through the worst pollution corridors – particularly First’s routes 51, 52a, 75/76, 81/82, 95 and 97/98, plus the Stagecoach routes 7 and 25.

These buses travel around 4.8 miles and so this prioritisation will significantly improve air quality across the city.

Councillor Jack Scott, cabinet member for transport and infrastructure at Sheffield City Council, said: “Polluted air is a public health emergency across our country and we need to take decisive and urgent action to clean up our air.”

“The action we are announcing today is a big step forward in achieving our bold vision of safer, cleaner air for everyone in Sheffield. I’m delighted we are making these improvements, which will mean Sheffield’s bus fleet has amongst the cleanest and greenest bus fleet anywhere in the country.

“We know that air quality isn’t just about health, it’s about fairness and inequality too. As such, I’m especially pleased to confirm that we are focusing these bus upgrades on the routes where pollution is highest and vulnerable people are most affected. This will close the gap between the communities with the dirtiest and cleanest air, which I hope everyone will welcome.”

The council are already trialling the biggest fleet of low-consumption hydrogen vehicles outside of London and are introducing anti-idling education and enforcement outside schools.