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Five local authorities have been granted a total of £1.4 million to reduce emissions created by buses. The funding, which was announced by the Department for Transport this week, will enable the fitment of clean exhaust technologies to local buses.

Falling under the Clean Bus Technology Fund, the grants range from £23,700 to £750,000 depending on the authority. This will see the application of Selective Catalytic Reduction technology to the exhaust systems of 92 buses to reduce harmful emissions. This latest announcement comes two months after an additional £5 million was awarded to 11 councils for the upgrade of 392 buses.

The following authorities will benefit from the latest funding:

Baroness Kramer, Minister of State for Transport, said, “This extra funding means more buses can be cleaned up so that they put out less pollution. Dozens of buses in five distinct areas will be improved with the money I am making available, improving air quality for local communities. It will also boost jobs and growth by helping to stimulate our cutting-edge green technology.

“I look forward to seeing the results of all the initiatives under the Clean Bus Technology Fund and I hope other local authorities will follow suit.”

The Clean Bus Technology Fund, launched in June this year, enabled local authorities to bid for grants of up to £1 million for the upgrade of buses on routes where air quality does not currently meet European Commission standards.

The financial support provided by the Clean Bus Technology Fund is in addition to the £12 million announced earlier in 2013 to provide 213 new low-carbon buses in the , and £2.4 million of funding for 55 low-carbon buses announced in October.