In his latest measure to tackle London’s lethal toxic air, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has delivered five new ‘clean air’ Low Emission Bus Zones in some of the capital’s worst pollutedhotspots.

Only buses that meet the cleanest emission standards will operate within the new Low Emission Bus Zones, which have been delivered through a combination of new and retrofitted vehicles.

London’s filthy air makes chronic illnesses worse, shortens life expectancy and damages lung development in children. A recent British Lung Foundation report found that more than 2,000 GP surgeries and 200 hospitals are in areas exceeding legal air quality limits across the country, whilst in London over 400 schools are estimated to be in areas of exceedance.

Seven Low Emission Bus Zones are now up and running in the capital – the five new zones announced today plus two zones launched last year in Putney High Street and on Brixton Road. It is estimated that annual bus NOx emissions will be reduced by an average of 90 per cent along the seven bus zones delivered so far.

The Mayor will deliver 12 Low Emission Bus Zones in total, and all of these will be in place ahead of schedule by the end of 2019, earlier than the Mayor’s previous target of 2020.

The five new Low Emission Bus Zones are:

· Camberwell to New Cross, cleaning up more than 380 buses

· Wandsworth to St John Hill, cleaning up more than 200 buses

· High Road Haringey to Green Lanes, cleaning up more than 330 buses

· A12 Eastern Avenue to Homerton Road, cleaning up more than 290 buses

· Edgware Road Kilburn to Maida Vale, cleaning up more than 240 buses

A new evaluation report published by City Hall today shows the first two Low Emission Bus Zones at Putney High Street and Brixton have had a major impact on pollution levels, with Putney High Street exceeding legal limits forjusttwo hours so far in 2018 compared to 807 over the same period in 2016, a reduction of over 99 per cent. At Brixton Road there has been an 85 per cent reduction in the hours exceeding legal limits since 2016.