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Islington Labour call on Tory Mayor of London to make Holloway Bus Garage hybrid only

Islington Labour has called on the Tory Mayor of London to follow their lead and take real action on air quality in Islington by making all buses at the Holloway bus garage hybrid by May 2016.

Add your name to the petition calling for the Mayor to act today.

Of the 226 buses at Holloway Garage less than 25% are currently hybrid models.

This is significant when hybrid buses are thought to produce around 40% less carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions and fewer particulate matters than conventional diesel buses.

Monitoring of pollution in Islington has found that Holloway Garage causes much higher pollution in the local area and that the bulk of dangerous particulate emissions came from buses.

These causes of emissions should be tackled first before other measures that might hit local people in their pocket.

Islington’s Labour Council has already taken significant steps to tackle air quality in the borough, including introducing a 20mph limit on the borough’s roads, clamping down on idling buses, lorries and diesel cars and having the greenest local authority fleet in the country.

Cllr Claudia Webbe, Executive Member for Environment, has written to the Mayor of London calling on him to act now. 

Cllr Claudia Webbe said:

“High polluting diesel buses and lorries are one of the biggest contributors to poor air quality in our borough and we need the Mayor to act.

“Just 25% of the buses at Holloway Garage being hybrid isn’t good enough and again shows the failure of the Mayor of London to take this issue seriously that is damaging the health of people in our borough.

“Too many of Islington’s residents are dying too soon because of the air we breathe.”

Cllr Richard Watts, Leader of Islington Council, added:

“The evidence is clear that the neighbourhoods that suffer the most from pollution are those with higher levels of deprivation. It’s about time that the Mayor took his responsibilities to these communities seriously and swapped his rhetoric of “beating the smog” for real action on the buses he controls.

“We are calling on the Mayor to follow Islington’s lead and take real action. We are asking him to commit to making 50% of buses at Holloway garage hybrid by May next year and 100% by May 2016.

“This relatively small step would go a long way towards improving the air quality in Islington.”

Poor air quality kills over 4,000 Londoners a year prematurely and many believe it is one of the largest public health crises facing the capital.

In 2008 it was estimated that 100 deaths in Islington were a direct result of expose to air pollution.

There are currently 226 buses at Holloway Bus Garage of which 55 or 24% are currently Hybrid models.

Islington published its Air Quality Strategy earlier this year and part of that document committed the council to lobbying the Mayor of London. The document can be found here.

 

Pictured: Cllr Claudia Webbe and Cllr Richard Watts outside Holloway Bus Garage. 

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