• JE Kirby raises a valid point about how engine-idling by buses should be tackled, as well as cars, if we are going to clean up the air in our capital, (Bus drivers, turn your engine off when you’re idling at stops, June 8).

Transport for London (TfL) has an expectation that its drivers will switch off engines when parked at stands or bus stations. This guidance is reiterated in the TfL “Big Red Book” given to bus drivers and enforced by random spot-checks at bus terminals and changeover points.

Furthermore, the Mayor of London has invested £300million in a greener fleet of buses to run through low-emission bus zones that have been introduced in 12 of the worst air-pollution hotspots.

To provide clarity on another matter raised in JE Kirby’s response, my reference to “illegal emissions” in my original letter was intended to highlight the cumulative effect of all heavy polluting traffic on London’s air quality, (Clean air saves lives, May 24).

The Mayor is currently addressing this through the implementation of the T-Charge and his campaign to lobby the government to introduce a diesel scrappage fund.

JENNETTE ARNOLD
London Assembly Labour member
for the North East