Tories 'wasted' £100million revamping buses with 'useless' green technology

14 December 2023 , 12:15

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Boris Johnson wanted a green bus revolution but the plans have stalled (Image: Getty Images)

The Government has wasted nearly £100million to retrofit buses with green technology that it admits is ineffective, new figures reveal.

Boris Johnson's promise of a green bus revolution was plunged into fresh difficulty in April after ministers were forced to pause handing out cash for councils to revamp old diesel buses due to "poor performance". Town hall chiefs were told that the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhausts - which are supposed to reduce the amount of nitrous oxides emitted - were not working as expected.

Figures revealed in written parliamentary questions show £64million was spent on retrofitting buses through the Clean Bus Technology Fund between 2017-2019, with another £31million through the separate NO2 programme. This means £95million has been spent on potentially faulty technology since 2017.

Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh accused the Government of 'incompetence and waste'

Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh demanded answers from Tory counterpart Mark Harper on why the Government was splashing millions of pounds on technology that doesn't work. Speaking in the Commons, she said: "Bus services are disappearing at record levels and yet his department has wasted almost £100million on retrofitting technology that doesn't work because it was never tested outside a lab.

"Even for this Government it is a shocking display of incompetence and waste. So will he now work with those cities left with useless technology and ensure that the next round of zero-emission funding is targeted there so they can get on with the job of cleaning up our air and cleaning up his mess?"

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The Transport Secretary said: "She will know that we have done a great deal of work to make sure that buses are compliant with their emissions rules. There are some technical issues that are being worked through at the moment but I'm not in a position to announce any decisions yet." He said the Government had made significant investment in bus services and "will always back it".

The Government said its probe into the technology would be done by the Autumn but it has not so far revealed the results. Cities like Sheffield, Manchester and Birmingham have been affected by the chaos, leaving them under pressure to meet the Government's tests for Clean Air Zones.

As of July 2023 the Government claimed it has funded the retrofit of around 6,000 buses across England - just a fifth of the total bus fleet. And the latest figures show its flagship green bus scheme has only delivered 137 out of 4,000 promised green buses as of December 2023.

Cllr Tom Hunt, Leader of Sheffield City Council said: “Cities like Sheffield need zero emission buses. That’s what the Government should be focusing on, not wasting time and money on technology that hasn’t worked.”

Ms Haigh told the Mirror: “Once again we are seeing a shocking disregard for taxpayers’ money from an incompetent Government. We know that the best way to reduce air pollution in our towns and cities is to get green, zero emission buses onto our roads.

"Instead, the Government has wasted millions in taxpayers’ money on a technology that they have failed to properly test. Labour will give every community the chance to take back control of the bus services they rely on.”

Lizzy Buchan