Bus ULEZ and beyond

Zero emission buses and other vehicles

The Enhanced Partnership (EP) is an agreement between the council and bus operators to deliver the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) 2025 Refresh that includes a fresh look at emissions and air quality. EP aims to provide a modern, clean bus fleet. All bus operators in the city will establish a road map to a zero-emission fleet with energy supply from renewable sources. 

The Enhanced Partnership scheme aims are:

• new bus purchases will have zero emission at the tailpipe for their entire route
• all buses on scheduled routes in Brighton & Hove will have zero emissions at the tailpipe for the entire route - agree a timeline when this will happen
• the power (kwh) to operate buses will be generated from renewable sources without emissions to air - expansion of offshore wind with Rampion 2 Offshore Wind Farm scheduled for 2030, helps to deliver a cleaner national grid, with significant electricity generation within the Sussex Region - the aim is to make significant progress in the phasing out of diesel engines and generators by 2030

Achievements so far

Council fleet driving down emissions and costs.

Long term commitment to Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging infrastructure in Brighton & Hove.

Development plans are well placed for active travel and public transport to reduce their impact on air quality by reducing the number of vehicle trips whilst also providing EV electric charging facilities for bikes, e-cargo and cars.

Brighton & Hove Buses in 2019 to 2020 bought 54 hybrid Euro-VI buses with the capability to operate as zero emission though the Air Quality Management Areas.

Big Lemon Community bonds have raised £1.5 million to buy 10 electric buses. Previously there has been support from DfT’s Clean Bus Transport Fund to trail battery technology in the city.

Bus ultra-low emission zone 2019 to 2025

Bus-ULEZ was introduced late 2019 with a view to implementation over 5 years.

All bus services with routes entering the zone have 5 years from the start of the bus-ULEZ to comply with the Euro-VI emission standard. Progress towards this aim started in 2014 with first Euro-VI bus purchases. Compared to 2019 operations improvements have substantially reduced roadside nitrogen dioxide. During 2025 all buses operating on scheduled routes in Brighton & Hove and its AQMAs will be ULEZ compliant. It marks delivery of a key measure in the council’s Air Quality Action Plan.

Brighton & Hove Buses 

A further 77 buses have been retrofitted to euro-VI standard between 2021 and 2023. A combination of funding from DEFRA, the council has helped deliver this stepped improvement in emissions.

Stagecoach 

Stagecoach have achieved Euro-VI emission standards for services into Brighton & Hove with new bus purchases since 2018. Any remaining non-ULEZ services (older than Euro-VI) were retired in 2024.

Compass 

Compass have achieved euro-VI for all operations in Brighton & Hove with new bus purchases since 2018 to 2019.

About bus-ULEZ

The standard for buses entering the bus-ULEZ

Nationally and throughout Europe regulations are in place to set standards for both air quality and vehicle emissions for new vehicles. The Euro 1 standard was first introduced in 1992 for buses and as technology and testing has improved the emissions limit has gradually become more stringent.

The Euro standards compare vehicle emissions under set conditions. This doesn't always reflect how a vehicle will perform on a typical bus route, for example North Street has a steep climb to the clock tower, which can affect the emissions a bus puts out. For this reason, Brighton & Hove buses have been working with Ricardo Engineering, a company based in Shoreham, Sussex to assess the effectiveness of the retrofits in real operating conditions. Buses have been fitted with tailpipe emissions testing equipment to monitor performance along a typical bus route. The number 7 bus route has been tested.

The results of this testing show improvements due to retrofits and new purchases. The information has helped guide retrofit and electric priority on the busiest routes and slope climbs.

Why a bus-ULEZ was needed

We have been monitoring air quality in the city since the mid-1990s. The aim of the bus ULEZ is to improve air quality by reducing levels of particles and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in areas of the city where it has remained above legal UK limits. Improving air quality in the city also has the benefit of making the city centre a more attractive place to shop and visit.

The main source of NO₂ emissions is transport which includes private vehicles, taxis, buses and freight and shipping. Long-term exposure to air pollution has a lasting effect on health and life expectancy, though the effects vary depending on where people live and the type of pollutant mixture. Good progress has been made in reducing levels of some airborne pollutants such as lead, benzene, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide The bus ULEZ

provides the framework for bus operators, taxi companies, as well as traffic engineers and other professionals to work together to address this problem. More information about the local impact of vehicle emissions on health can be found in the chapter on air quality in city’s annual Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

Bus-Low Emission Zone 2015 to 2019

All bus services with routes entering the Low Emission Zone had 5 years form the date of the low emission zone to comply with Euro-V emission standard. Bus operators in the city, both large and small, played their part in making public transport a more sustainable travel choice and reducing particulate emissions. 73 vehicles used most in Sussex Air Quality Management Areas had their exhaust fitted to better than euro-V emission standard.

Brighton & Hove Buses in 2019 to 2020 bought a further 54 Euro-VI buses (the cleanest Euro standard).

Stagecoach has invested £2 million with 12 Euro 5 buses which are now being used on the 700 route.

Taxis are not covered by the Low or Ultra-low Emission Zone conditions, drivers are observing ‘no engine idling’ policies whilst stationary at taxi ranks. A successful joint bid with Brighton & Hove City Council has enabled some trial minibuses to reach euro-VI with cleaner exhaust technology.

Where the bus-LEZ is

The original Low Emission Zone was set out in 2014 and covers Castle Square, North Street and Western Road as far as Palmeira Square. Although the Low Emission Zone area is small, close to 95% of bus movements in the city pass through the zone, extending the benefits of cleaner buses throughout the city. As added value, hybrid buses (battery charged by a diesel generator) operate as zero through the Air Quality Management Areas and diversions that they operate.

Long term improvement in air quality

Long-term monitoring results suggest an improvement in nitrogen dioxide across the local the Air Quality Management Area that includes the North Street and Western Road bus-ULEZ. In 2023 for the first time concentrations met UK limits for nitrogen dioxide. Further progress is required to meet EU air quality targets (published 2024) and work toward WHO guidelines for the protection of human health.

£1.75 million has been won from the Department of Transports and DEFRA air quality grant scheme to helped upgrade 150 buses. The Brighton bus retrofits are to specifically target emission of oxides of nitrogen. So far this is our most important intervention measure in support of local air quality improvement. £195,000 has also been won to design low emission technology for minibus taxis.

Bus-zone enforcement

Stage 1 Bus-LEZ and stage 2 bus-ULEZ are by prior agreement with bus operators, so enforcement should not be necessary. We asked the Traffic Commissioners Office for a Traffic Regulation Condition to be applied to the licenses of all bus operators with services in the original Low Emission Zone (LEZ) travel corridor. This was granted January 2015 for the LEZ corridor, and the Traffic Commissioner has powers to issue fines if these conditions are not met.

Brighton & Hove City Council is responsible for monitoring vehicles entering the ULEZ. Cameras used to enforce bus lanes can be used to identify any unauthorised vehicles and take enforcement action if required. ANPR cameras were installed in the AQMAs during 2024 to 2025. The new cameras can characterise vehicles by emission category, including consideration of exhaust retrofits that have upgraded intermediate aged vehicles (to cleaner emission standards compared to the original registration). The oldest vehicles are taken out of local service.

The bus emission zone boundary has not changed since the original (2015 LEZ). That said there is interest in applying more stringent emission standards throughout Brighton & Hove and its Air Quality Management Areas. In 2024 the highest NO₂ levels have been recorded adjacent to specific sections of Lewes Road and London Road. The highest local priority to reduce vehicle emissions are the A270, A23 and B2066 travel corridors. Find more information in our 2025 Air Quality Annual Status Report (ASR).

How we decided on a bus-LEZ 

The council first passed a resolution in June 2013 asking officers to investigate whether a bus Low Emission Zone could help tackle the issue of poor air quality in parts of the city. The report that followed looked at the small number of bus Low Emission Zones already up and running elsewhere in the country (London, Norwich and Oxford) and weighed up whether and how they could be applied to help improve air quality in Brighton & Hove.

Brighton & Hove’s Low Emission Zone (step 2 bus-ULEZ) was introduced following constructive discussions with city bus operators and the taxi companies on ways in which poor air quality can be tackled in a practical way.

The full report also looked at whether other forms of transport such as freight and private vehicles should be regulated within the Low Emission Zone. The report recommending a bus based Low Emission Zone was agreed in January 2014. 

You can find up to date information on our how we manage air quality in the city page.