Go-Ahead to deploy air filtering buses across the UK
Go-Ahead is set to deploy its so-called air filtering buses in six more regions around the UK this year after a successful trial in Southampton.
The transport operator is accelerating its shift toward greener technology with its pollutant-tackling buses that remove dirty particles from the air.
The single-decker buses are fitted with air filtering systems made up of three fans on its roof that suck ultra-fine particles and dirt into special filters.
The roll-out is scheduled for early summer and the air filtering buses will be deployed in Brighton, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, Plymouth and Crawley/Gatwick.
There will also be five more of these Go-Ahead buses hitting the streets of Southampton from the start of next month, covering an entire city route.
It comes after a successful launch last year on the south coast, where tests showed a single bus was capable of removing as much as 65g of pollutants from the air over 100 days – the equivalent weight of a tennis ball.
It means the buses are able to clean up to 3.2m cubic metres of city air while driving passengers around.
“Our air-filtering system has exceeded all expectations in how it can benefit the environment, and it builds on our track-record as operator of the UK’s greenest bus fleet,” said Go-Ahead chief executive David Brown.
Brown added that it was a “quick win” for councils looking to tackle pollution.
Go-Ahead is already the operator of one of Europe’s largest fleets of electric vehicles, which includes more than 200 buses.