National Express gets £1.3million for new buses in Birmingham

Dec 5 2009 by Patrice John, Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM bus passengers will be travelling in style after the region scooped £1.3 million for new vehicles.

National Express will use the cash to buy 20 low-polluting, fuel-efficient buses.

The money for the initiative was part of the Department for Transport’s Green Bus Fund which aims to reduce the pollution levels of public transport.

National Express’s Martin Hancock said: “We are continually investing in our bus services in the Midlands and this project is very exciting as not only will we have brand new buses for the city, they will use at least 30 per cent less fuel than equivalent conventional buses.”

The buses will run on routes 22 and 23 in south Birmingham and will be introduced in 2011.

Passenger transport authority Centro backed the scheme and Coun Jon Hunt said: “It’s great to see our local public transport leading the way in the use of these next generation hybrid buses.

“These vehicles will help us to achieve the reduction in carbon emissions that have been laid down.”