Health 'put at risk' by Black Country bus emissions
Ageing buses churning out harmful nitrogen oxide gases could be endangering the health of residents and pedestrians in a busy Black Country street.
Steve Eling, deputy leader of Sandwell Council, said a pollution survey was conducted on the council's behalf in Bearwood Road, between Bearwood and Smethwick.
He said it which revealed that although buses comprised only six per cent of the traffic, they contributed 57 per cent of the pollution.
These fumes included nitrogen oxide, which can cause swelling of throat tissues in the upper respiratory tract and CO2, which damages the environment.
Mr Eling believed the problem was caused by older buses run by operator National Express West Midlands which needed replacing with newer models and he has called on the operator to carry out the change.
He said the operator was still using Euro 4 classification buses, which are 10 years old, while he believed some 30pc of the buses using Bearwood Road were 15 years old and therefore did not meet the expected emissions targets.
He wanted to see more Euro 6 buses, which came into service on September 14, using the number 11 route which covers areas around Birmingham, including Stechford, Yardley, Perry Barr, Harborne and Bearwood.
"We are not looking to say 'we don't want buses going through there,' but we can't tolerate this level of pollution. The general argument is to get people to use public transport because it reduces pollution, but what we are seeing here is that it is the buses that are pumping out the fumes," Mr Eling added.
The traffic pollution survey was conducted in November on behalf of the council using equipment that was not just able to monitor what was coming out of exhausts at ground level, but also used Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to pinpoint specific vehicles that were causing the pollution and Mr Eling said many of these were buses.
He said he would like to make Bearwood Road a low emission zone, which could result in the most polluting vehicles being banned from the area.
National Express spokesman Jack Kelly said: "Our passengers enjoy a very low carbon foot print due to the fact buses in this area average 30 passengers on each journey.
"We have yet to see any details of this report but will study them closely when they are available to us.
"This year we are investing record amounts on new buses that will see newer vehicles in Bearwood and the wider area.
