Sadiq Khan has launched the second addition to a planned network of low-emission bus zones on one of London’s most polluted high streets.
The new “clean” route runs along Brixton Road in south London, which has a reputation for high levels of toxic air.
Within the zone, 450 buses travel on 23 scheduled routes – carrying 130,000 passengers daily.
The route, launched on Tuesday, will serve Brixton Hill via Stockwell Road and Streatham High Road to Streatham Place.
Only buses that meet the London mayor’s “toughest emission standards” will be permitted to run through the new Brixton Low Emission Bus Zone.
It is the second zone to be introduced in heavily polluted areas of the city, after the first was launched in Putney High Street in March.
According to City Hall, the Putney route has seen a 90 per cent reduction in hourly breaches of toxic air levels.
The polluted Brixton-Streatham route, which passes a number of primary schools, exceeded hourly legal levels of nitrogen dioxide on 539 occasions last year.
It breached annual legal pollution limits by January 5 this year.
Under EU rules, the limit should not be exceeded more than 18 times in a year.
Mr Khan said: “To tackle this lethal air we need a dramatic reduction in harmful emissions from polluting buses and older more polluting vehicles. I am committed to making our bus fleet the greenest in the world and today I’ve continued to deliver on that pledge.
He added: “We’ve already seen a massive improvement in air quality along the Putney route. I’m confident that will be replicated here in Brixton and along the 10 other routes where we are introducing Low Emission Bus Zones.”
Ten more Low Emission Bus Zones will follow Brixton and Putney by 2020, the mayor said.
