Mayor of Greater Manchester makes zero-emission bus pledge

Andy Burnham signs a declaration of intent for the city-region to move to a zero-emission bus fleet

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, reaffirmed his commitment to improving air quality when he joined other European leaders to sign a declaration of intent for the city-region to move to a zero-emission bus fleet.

He was one of a number of city mayors to sign the declaration at the European Metropolitan Transport Authorities (EMTA) conference – which was also attended by France’s Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne and other senior transport officials.

The annual event brings together metropolitan transport authorities from across the continent and is currently presided over by Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM’s) Chief Executive Dr Jon Lamonte.

Their collective ambition is to achieve low to zero-carbon transport networks in cities and metropolitan areas across Europe.

Mr Burnham said: “It was important for me to join other European city mayors in signing this declaration of intent to move to zero-emission buses. It was a significant moment at this year’s EMTA conference and now the declaration has been signed we need the industry to come forward with solutions.

“We know there’s an urgent need to improve air quality and that’s recognised across the continent. One of my key objectives for Greater Manchester is to improve public awareness and understanding of air pollution, and drive action to reduce emissions.

“We’ve already started this important work. Earlier this year we secured £3m to retrofit high polluting buses with the technology to reduce tailpipe emissions and previous funding has allowed us to turn all our Yellow School Buses – which have taken millions of car journeys off the road – into an eco-friendly fleet.

“I also recently announced £243m of funding to buy more trams and improve cycling and walking infrastructure across the city-region, helping tackle air pollution and the debilitating effects of congestion.

“We’re at an early stage, but I’m hopeful that, by working closely with colleagues at home and abroad, we’ll meet these challenges head-on.”

Signatories pledged to prioritise the introduction of ‘clean vehicles’  and support the transformation towards low- and zero- emission bus fleets, as soon as and wherever possible.

The EMTA summit in Paris, which marked the group’s 20th anniversary, comes less than two weeks before the UK’s Clean Air Day on Thursday 21 June, in which Greater Manchester is playing a full part.

Mr Burnham added: “I’m asking people across Greater Manchester to get involved in Clean Air Day. If we all take action together, we can clean up the air we breathe and make the city-region a healthier and better place in which to live.”