National Express West Midlands (NXWM) pledged support for the first national Clean Air Day. The bus operator called on the people of the West Midlands to give their car a holiday last Thursday (June 15). To make it even easier to leave the car at home, they offered five days’ travel at a discount.
NXWM launched a special Clean Air Day Regional eDaysaver, preloaded with five days’ travel for £15, down from the normal price of £19.
NXWM Managing Director, Paul Thomas, said: “Air pollution is a real problem here in the West Midlands. It’s affecting people’s health – especially children. Buses are the answer to air pollution. We know that once people try the bus, they like it, so Clean Air Day is a great opportunity to get on board.”
NXWM said is has halved bus exhaust emissions in the last five years and will halve them again in the next couple of years.
The bus operator has done this by investing millions of pounds on new buses which are amongst the cleanest, greenest buses on the market. They have also been retrofitting hundreds of their oldest buses with new exhaust systems.
NXWM was present on Thursday at the University of Birmingham and Birmingham’s Cathedral Square in the city centre. The bus operator also took part in Birmingham City Council’s video to mark National Clean Air Day.
The West Midlands is a hotspot for pollution. Birmingham, Coventry, Walsall and Wolverhampton are all on the government’s list of places with above-legal limits of NO2 gas.
