Southampton air-cleaning bus trial extended

The filter's manufacturer, Pall Aerospace, said it was designed to remove 99.5% of particles

More buses that can filter pollution from the air are set to enter service in Southampton following a trial.

A Bluestar bus with a filter system on its roof that removes particulate air pollution and blows out pure air behind it began running in September 2018.

Go-Ahead said it had "exceeded expectations" and more buses would have it fitted.

It said a total of 65g of particulate matter (PM10) was extracted from the air over the course of the trial.

Southampton has been named by the World Health Organisation as at the limit for levels of fine particle pollution

PM10 particles, which are less than 10 micrometres in diameter, are associated with health problems including asthma. Road traffic is among the main causes of the pollution.

Southampton was chosen for the trial because the World Health Organisation revealed it had reached its limit of unsafe air pollution.

The filter on the bus was weighed at the beginning and end of the trial.

All five buses on the number seven route serving Lordshill and Sholing via the general hospital, Millbrook, Shirley, City Centre and Woolston, will now be fitted with the system.

A Go-Ahead spokesman said if further studies proved successful, more buses fitted with filters could be rolled out across the Go Ahead network, which includes cities Oxford, Manchester and Plymouth.