The Government today (December 31) tightened the emission requirements of Franchised Bus Low Emission Zones (FBLEZs) to Euro V or above emission standards to further improve the roadside air quality at busy corridors within the FBLEZs as well as in those districts where low emission buses operate.
A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said, "Since December 31, 2015, the Government has set up FBLEZs at Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay, the junction of Des Voeux Road Central and Pedder Street in Central, and the junction of Nathan Road and Lai Chi Kok Road in Mong Kok respectively. In these FBLEZs, franchised bus companies were required to deploy low emission buses meeting Euro IV or above emission standards to routes running through them." The location maps are attached in the Annex.
The EPD spokesman added, "Currently, the bus routes running through the three FBLEZs are operated by the Kowloon Motor Bus Co (1933) Limited as well as Citybus Limited and New World First Bus Services Limited. These three franchised bus companies already have sufficient Euro V low emission buses for deployment to the bus routes running through the FBLEZs. In case of exceptional conditions such as traffic congestion, vehicle breakdowns, traffic accidents and ad-hoc trips, they may need to deploy non-low emission buses to ply the FBLEZs occasionally in order to maintain normal bus services."
The franchised bus companies will report to the EPD and the Transport Department on a regular basis regarding the deployment of buses to the FBLEZs. These two departments will closely monitor the implementation of the FBLEZs.
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