Two new bus routes have been approved to cut air pollution in Hammersmith & Fulham.
The low emission bus zones – which run from Uxbridge Road to Shepherds Bush and from Chiswick High Road to Kensington – will feature new hybrid and cleaner buses by 2020.
“Our plan is to make Hammersmith & Fulham the greenest borough in the country,” says Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Residents' Services.
“And air pollution is one of the biggest public health problems we face. So these new low emission bus zones will help us in our drive for a cleaner and healthier borough.”
The health impacts from air pollution in H&F are among the highest seen in London, according to research by Kings College London.
A resident-led Air Quality Commission was set-up last year in the borough to look into ways of tackling the problem. They have called for the Mayor of London to upgrade all TfL buses in the borough to electric until all petrol and diesel vehicles have been removed to reduce the amount of nitrogen dioxide in the air.
Older buses produce more of this harmful gas, and replacing them with new models, particularly if they are electric, will help protect children, the elderly and people with heart and lung disease.
In H&F, 25 per cent of nitrogen dioxide pollution from road transport comes from TfL buses.
As well as new vehicles, the plans will see road alterations to ensure buses spend less time stuck in traffic needlessly burning fuel.
