Cllr Sarah Whitebread had a letter published in yesterday’s edition of Cambridge News, calling for the County Council to take firmer action to improve air quality in the city centre. The text of the letter is below.
“It is time for the County Council to get serious on air quality and be more ambitious in its targets for bus operators.
At a council meeting earlier this week, the “Quality Bus Partnership” led by the County Council presented its annual report, outlining its efforts to improve the emissions standards of its vehicles. Or rather it didn’t; no-one from the board and no County Council Cabinet member turned up to defend it.
The report was extremely feeble.
In 2010 a parliamentary report showed that poor air quality in the UK could be responsible for up to 50,000 premature deaths per year. Yet in Cambridge, the Conservative County Council is still allowing old buses, dating back to before 1998, to belch out nitrous oxides and particulates across the city. This is in stark contrast to the City Council which demands that new taxis be no more than four years old.
What works for taxis should work for buses too. Air pollution in the city centre is way above national objectives. The County Council should listen to residents, workers and shoppers in Cambridge concerned about the air they breathe, and take firm action on emissions now.”