‘Include coaches in ULEZ support’ says Vidler

The Confederation of Passenger Transport’s new Chief Executive, Graham Vidler, has written to Shirley Rodrigues, Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy, asking for coaches to be included in support for ‘greening’ the capital.

The letter, which was copied to Heidi Alexander, Deputy Mayor for Transport, seeks support for operators running bus services under the local service permit (LSP) system operated by TfL, as well as coach operators running services into the capital, to adapt or replace their fleet. Neither of these groups of operators has so far been eligible for retrofit support from TfL but provide valuable services to London.

CPT proposes that some of the revenue raised from the ULEZ to date should be used to support these operators transition to cleaner vehicles. Not only will this put them on an equal footing with those operating bus services in the affected areas, it will help to secure a key income stream from tourism to the capital, keep vital services for vulnerable people operational, and contribute to the clean air targets that the ULEZ and LEZ are designed to meet.