1000 free bus tickets across East Midlands for Clean Air Day

A thousand free bus tickets are being given away for free by Stagecoach East Midlands to support Clean Air Day and promote the environmental benefits of bus travel.

Taking place on Thursday June 20, Clean Air Day aims to raise awareness of air pollution and promote ways people can choose cleaner and more environmentally-friendly travel and lifestyle options, to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions.

Stagecoach East Midlands are urging people to reduce their impact on air pollution by leaving their cars at home and catching the bus instead.

Bus travel reduces congestion and carbon emissions by replacing up to 75 cars for every full bus on the road. Buses and coaches emit only 6% of total road transport emissions, whilst 60% comes from diesel cars and vans.

To mark the global environmental day, Stagecoach East Midlands will also be launching the latest new environmentally-friendly buses to join their fleet at an event in Hull city centre.

A £5.7 million investment by Stagecoach East Midlands, the 31 high-spec vehicles are fitted with Euro 6 engines with low carbon emissions, the latest start/stop technology to cut emissions when not moving, as well as modern CCTV equipment. In recent years, greener buses have also been introduced for services in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Mansfield.

Matt Cranwell, Managing Director of Stagecoach East Midlands, said: “We are proud to be supporting Clean Air Day, helping to raise awareness of the dangers of air pollution and encouraging people to support and use public transport as we try and tackle the problem together.

“A bus has 15-20 times the carrying capacity of a car. Each new bus, with up to 77 seated passengers on board for example, generates less carbon emissions than just one diesel car with a lone driver. That’s a huge positive impact each modern bus can have compared to cars.

“We hope that offering 1000 passengers free bus travel will encourage people to support Clean Air Day and of course see just how convenient it is to take the bus, and discover what a better use of time it is, whether that’s catching up on emails, chatting to friends, or enjoying a good book.”

The bus firm has also invested £1.25 million in contactless payment systems, making buying tickets and on-board transactions quicker and easier than ever. A new telematic system, Greenroad technology, has also been implemented, helping to achieve safer driving and improved fuel economy by monitoring for optimal safety whilst the vehicle is moving.

Visitors to the event in Hull, which takes place from 10am until 3pm at King Edward Street, can check out the new fleet of greener buses and take part in activities to celebrate Clean Air Day, including a wheel of fortune, the ‘buzzer game’ and a Clean Air quiz for a chance to win prizes.