TfL Ref: 2189-1617
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 8 February 2017 asking for information about low emission routes in Putney.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require.
You asked:
1) Can you please confirm official implantation date for Putney High Street scheme
We do not have an official start date but expect bus services on this corridor to meet this standard from the start of March.
2) Can you advise if it includes TfL buses that are out of service / running empty, or is limited to buses on scheduled routes only.
The Low Emission Bus Zones will feature the cleanest engine buses, operating scheduled services on these corridors. If the same buses are out of service and returning to depot, they will still be much cleaner than their counterparts and emitting only ultra-low amounts of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM). We anticipate buses from routes 22 and 337 – which do not operate scheduled services along Putney High Street – using this corridor to return out-of-service to Putney Garage. These vehicles are currently a mix of hybrid and conventional diesel Euro V and we anticipate retrofitting these with selective catalytic reduction equipment to bring them up to Euro VI standard as part of a fleet upgrade programme. We are trialling retrofit equipment currently and anticipate routes such as the 22 and 337 being at the early part of the programme. Where possible, we are combining bus priority work to help traffic flow more freely and reduce all types of vehicle emissions as much as possible.
3) Does it include buses with passengers on TfL controlled rail replacement services (eg for the District Line closure 27-29 May).
The number of buses meeting the Euro VI standard will increase rapidly and this would apply equally to rail replacement services when these are available. We endeavour to use the cleanest and most modern buses available for this work, depending on vehicles availability at the time. Many buses are London were previously fitted with selective catalytic reduction equipment which means their NOx is already very low and close to the Euro VI engine emission standard. Between now and 2020, we plan to raise the entire fleet to this standard or better so that all buses are ultra-low emission. Most of these will combine hybrid technology to make them cleaner still and benefit all roads, not just those designated as LEBZs.
4) If it does not cover the buses in (2) and/or (3) above please state the minimum emissions (eg euroII, euroIII etc) that these TfL controlled buses are required to meet whilst operating in the mayors designated low emission route, and the reasons for their exemption (as exemptions were not announced in mayors press release).
As vehicles under point 3 can sometimes change close to the time of their operation for operational reasons like maintenance and scheduled service requirements, we cannot state the engine generation in advance, only that we endeavour to operate the cleanest and most modern buses at the time. We provide the most up to date fleet data on our website:
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/bus-fleet-data-and-audits.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
