Green transport initiatives to put region in driving seat for environmental progress

Three initiatives have been launched which are designed to fuel significant transport changes that will improve air quality in cities across the West Midlands.

Three schemes across the regions are to share £3.8m funding for electric buses as part of an ultra-low emission bus scheme backed by Government.

Coventry City Council is to receive £2.3m, Birmingham Airport £1.4m, and City of Wolverhampton Council £140,000 for buses and infrastructure.

Separately Coventry-based taxi manufacturer London Electric Vehicle Company, which builds the famous black cabs, is inviting Birmingham cabbies to go on a 48-hour test-drive of its electric TX Taxi.

The transport initiatives are particularly timely, with a growing focus on air quality and ahead of the introduction of Clean Air Zone regulations in Birmingham next year.

Coventry, which has said it currently has no plans to introduce its own Clean Air Zone, plans to submit an outline business case to Government next week about how it will improve air quality. Coventry is one of 27 towns and cities in the UK where nitrogen dioxide levels are forecast to exceed legal limits by 2020.

Birmingham City Council has just launched a website, businessbreathes.co.uk, to help businesses understand what they need to do when the Clean Air Zone comes into force in Birmingham city centre in 12 months’ time.

Cllr Waseem Zaffar, cabinet member for transport and environment at Birmingham City Council, said: “The Clean Air Zone will represent a significant change in terms of the way people travel around the city, so it is important that those who rely on the use of vehicles for their business are able to make the necessary preparations and access the relevant support ahead of its implementation in January 2020.”