Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown has revealed the government is providing a further £2.5m for the Scottish Green Bus Fund.
£9.2m has been invested in the scheme since 2010. This has allowed Scottish bus operators to purchase 74 eco-friendly vehicles.
It follows an additional £3m brought forward in economic stimulus funding for the Green Bus Fund in August.
Brown confirmed the funding during a Parliamentary debate. Speaking before the debate, he said: “The Scottish Green Bus Fund has already been a huge success and is further evidence of everything this Government continues to do to support the bus industry, how we are working to meet our ambitious climate change targets and our investment in supporting Scottish jobs.
“Green Buses also help operators to keep their running costs down thanks to the massive reductions in fuel consumption and this can only be good news for passengers.
“We want the people of Scotland to experience the very real benefits of Green Buses and this announcement will have a huge impact on that ambition.
“Low carbon transport benefits us all through an improved environment and a strong public transport network plays a part in this, as well as cutting congestion on the roads and making them safer for all users.”
Colin Robertson, CEO of Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), said: “The success of our hybrids is beyond question, which is a feather in the cap for ADL, Scottish innovation and our nation’s pacesetting engineering skills.
“There are now almost 450 ADL hybrids operating in the UK, mainland Europe, Hong Kong and Sydney – but we need to keep our foot on the pedal in terms of advancing the technology even further.
“Our hybrids are currently demonstrating a 60% reduction in fuel and CO2 compared to many conventional diesel buses.
“We will take our nextgeneration hybrid to another level in 2013 and I expect to see that improvement figure move towards 70%. These are vehicles which keep their promises and can make a huge contribution towards cleanair initiatives in city environments.”
