Steve Brine MP met with bosses from Bluestar this week, to see for himself the local bus operator’s efforts to reduce harmful emissions across the region.
Meeting up with Councillor Jan Warwick and Bluestar managing director Andrew Wickham in his Winchester constituency, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health was keen to learn more about a trial air filtering bus.
“This is the first time a filter of this type has been used in this way anywhere in the world - and it could have a wide-ranging impact on the air quality here,” said Steve Brine MP.
“As the bus follows its route, the filter sucks in air and removes harmful particles, before sending the air back out again.
“It’s very exciting to think that, if successful, Bluestar’s parent company Go-Ahead Group, could begin rolling it out on buses across the nation. I’m delighted that our local bus operator has been chosen as the first to trial such pioneering technology.”
Andrew Wickham added: “We’re proud to be the first bus company using this special air filter. If it works, and is fitted into all urban buses, it could have a crucial impact on air quality.
“In nearby Southampton this is hugely significant because of the city’s Clean Air Zone project. We are proud to be working with local partners Pall Aerospace - who invented the filter - to forge new ways of improving the quality of air we breathe here.”
According to feasibility studies conducted by Pall Aerospace, the pilot bus will clean the air on its route 1.7 times per year, to a height of 10 metres. If successful, the project has the potential to make an important change to air quality, and to the lives of those living in the region.
For more information about Bluestar, visit bluestar.co.uk
