We are delighted to annouce that we have been awarded funding from the Scottish Government’s Scottish Bus Emissions Abatement Retrofit (BEAR) programme.

Our application for funding was received and assessed by the Energy Savings Trust, who have granted the us £327,604 of BEAR Phase 2 funding.

Full funding was received for 11 buses and a further 25 buses have been awarded 40% funding, with the company committing to paying the remaining 60% of the costs.

The BEAR programme was set up by the Scottish Government with an aim to fit buses/coaches with approved retrofit technology measures to support the delivery of Scotland’s Low Emission Zones.

Claire McVicar, Lothian’s Environmental Officer leading on the Bus2020 project said:

We are fully committed to improving air quality across all our operations in Edinburgh and the Lothian’s through our ambitious Bus2020 strategy, in line with the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Targets. We are delighted to receive further funding from The Scottish Government to assist us in achieving our aims. This funding combined with our own substantial investment, will be used to retrofit 36 of our Euro 5 buses to Euro 6 standard, enabling us to continue to reduce our emissions in some of Edinburgh’s key air quality management areas.

Our Bus2020 commitment will see us operate only Euro 5 or above buses by the end of next year.