Low emission buses add to city's pollution levels

A report suggests some retrofitted buses are actually contributing to emissions

Buses fitted with technology to help cut emissions have "contributed significantly" to legal pollution limits being exceeded, a council report has said.

The systems were retrofitted to buses when Bradford adopted its clean air zone (CAZ) but they are "not working", councillors will be told later.

Bradford received £39m from government to implement its CAZ, which enabled it to offer grants to upgrade HGVs, taxis and buses to meet emission targets ahead of the launch in September 2022.

Bus operators were offered up to £16,000 to convert bus engines but the council now wants more money to pay for zero emission buses following the failure of the retrofitted vehicles.

Bradford Council was ordered to improve its air quality by government in 2018.

Plans for the CAZ were announced in 2020, involving the most polluting vehicles being charged to enter the zone.

A report prepared for a meeting of the council's regeneration and environment scrutiny committee later said: "The government has published research findings on buses that were retrofitted with CAZ-approved emission abatement systems showing that these systems are not working.

"Council assessments show that retrofitted buses contribute significantly to the exceedance of legal limits on Manchester Road and Queens Road."

'Secure investment'

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council's air quality assessments have been submitted to government and "discussions are ongoing regarding additional funding" to help the city become compliant with legal pollution limits.

The government research had found that the retrofitted systems could reduce nitrogen oxides produced by buses.

But it added: "Multiple technical and human factors lead to variations in performance and widespread underperformance."

It said the emissions of nitrogen oxides were "higher than expected" with the retrofitted systems.

When asked for more details, a council spokesperson said: "The central government funding for bus retrofit was paused in April 2023 under the last government whilst they undertook an investigation into the performance of buses fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology.

"The report was published in mid-December 2024 under the new government which details the outcomes of the investigation."

They said the council leader was working to "try to secure government investment in zero emission buses".

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