There are 3,835 hybrid buses, 950 battery electric buses, and 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses operating in London, as of March 2023, out of a total bus fleet of 8,643 - this is around 56% of the bus fleet. [1]
As of January 2024 [update] , the battery electric fleet of the city is the second largest in Europe behind of Moscow, which has over 1,400 electric buses operating. [2] Transport for London (TfL) note that the bus fleet has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per passenger kilometre of other major cities such as New York, Paris and Vancouver. [3]
In 2021, it was announced that all buses in the fleet meet or exceed Euro VI emission standards, following the phasing out of older buses, the retrofitting of diesel vehicles and the introduction of new hybrid & electric buses. [4] From 2021, all new buses will be zero emission, and the entire bus fleet will be zero emission by 2034, [5] [6] although TfL have stated that with additional funding, this could be achieved by 2030. [4] [7]
In 2006, transport was responsible for around 20% of London's CO2 emissions; with buses making up 5% of the transport total. The city set a target of a 20% reduction in emissions by the year 2020. Converting London's entire bus fleet to hybrid vehicles would reduce CO2 emissions by around 200,000 tonnes per year. [8] Diesel buses also produce particulate pollution, which is harmful to health. By using less diesel fuel, operators can also reduce the running cost of their bus fleet.
Hybrid electric buses use a combination of an electric battery pack and a diesel engine to provide power, and produce around 40% less carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than traditional diesel engined buses. Energy generated during braking is used to charge the batteries of hybrid vehicles. [9] [10] Battery electric buses use on-board batteries to power an electric motor that drives the bus. Unlike a hybrid electric bus, there are no local emissions. As with hybrid buses, regenerative braking is used to charge the batteries. [11] Hydrogen fuel cell buses use the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen to generate electricity that drives the bus with an electric motor. The only emission from the bus is water. [12]
In the 1990s, early efforts to improve emissions involved replacing older diesel buses such as the AEC Routemaster, use of ultra-low-sulfur diesel, and fitting particulate filters to exhausts. [13] [14] In 2000, three DAF SB220 East Lancs Myllennium buses powered by liquefied petroleum gas were used to transport visitors to the Millennium Dome. [15] [16] [17] By December 2005, all buses met Euro II emission standards, [18] with the first Euro IV bus entering service in April 2006. [19]
In January 2004, three hydrogen fuel cell powered buses were introduced on route 25 on a two-year trial. [20] [21] These were transferred to route RV1 in September 2004, [22] and were tested in commercial service on the route at peak times only. They were withdrawn in January 2007. [23]
The first hybrid buses to enter service in London were six Wright Electrocity single-deckers. These were ordered in March 2005 to operate on route 360. [24] The single decker buses were unveiled by Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone on 7 February 2006, with the intention of starting operation on the following day. [25] Later in 2006 the vehicles were temporarily withdrawn from service when their diesel engines overheated. [8]
A double-deck hybrid vehicle intended for use in London was unveiled in October 2006. The bus, which cost £285,000 and was constructed by Wrightbus, was the first hybrid double-decker in the world, and was painted in red and green to symbolise the environmental benefits. [10] It entered service in February 2007 on route 141. [9]
An ethanol fuelled double-decker bus was operated by Transdev London in 2008 and 2009. [26] In 2010, eight hydrogen buses were introduced on route RV1, with a substantially larger range than the fuel cell buses used in the mid-2000s. [23] [27] At the time, this was the largest hydrogen bus fleet in Europe. [28]
Twenty-five vehicles entered service in December 2008, introduced onto five routes run by four different operators. A further eighteen entered service in July 2009, when six Volvo B5L double-deckers joined the existing vehicles on route 141. [29] [30]
Transport for London stated that it intended to have introduced around 300 hybrids into service by 2012. This was achieved in July 2012, when an Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double-decker of Abellio London became the 300th hybrid in use when it entered service on route 211. [31] [32] It was originally intended that every bus introduced into service after 2012 would be a hybrid, [8] but this requirement was later dropped. [33]
A trial of inductive charging technology for three modified Alexander Dennis Enviro400H double-deckers was announced in August 2014. The vehicles, on route 69, receive current to charge the traction batteries while at stands at either end of the route. Although it is intended that the units are to operate in "pure electric" mode, a standard diesel engine is also carried. [34]
In the 2010s, bus operators retrofitted older buses to improve fuel economy, reduce air pollution and meet emission standards. [4] [35] A three-year £86m project to improve 5,000 buses to Euro VI emission standards was completed in 2021. [4] [36]
A Kinetic energy recovery system using a carbon fibre flywheel, originally developed for the Williams Formula One racing team, has been modified for retrofitting to existing double-decker buses. 500 buses from the Go-Ahead Group will be fitted with this technology from 2014 to 2016, anticipated to improve fuel efficiency by approximately 20%. [37] The team who developed the technology were awarded the Dewar Trophy of the Royal Automobile Club in 2015. [38]
The New Routemaster double-decker was specified and constructed to a hybrid design. The bus was designed to be 40% more fuel-efficient than conventional diesel buses, and 15% more than London hybrid buses already in operation, reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by 40% and particulate matter by 33% compared with diesel buses. [39] The first eight vehicles entered service with Arriva London on route 38 in February 2012. [40] By 2018, a total of 1,000 New Routemasters were in service. [41] However, the buses have suffered from problems with their battery systems with some operating solely as diesel vehicles, and in total 200 buses will have power units replaced under warranty. [42]
In 2022, Equipmake converted a New Routemaster bus to use batteries, replacing the diesel engine and hybrid system with a 400kWh battery and electric motors. [43] Equipmake suggested that the conversion could be cheaper than purchasing new battery electric buses. [43]
In December 2013, the first battery electric buses entered service in London as a trial on routes 521 and 507, using BYD Auto buses built in China. [44] BYD estimated that the cost savings could be up to 75%, owing to the cost of electricity compared to diesel fuel. The trial was successful, and further orders for battery electric buses followed. [45]
In 2015, the world's first battery electric double-decker bus entered service on route 98. [46] The first routes in London solely served by battery electric single decker buses were routes 521 and 507 in 2016. [47] The first route in London solely served by electric double-decker buses was route 43 in 2019. [48]
In January 2021, it was announced that all buses in the fleet meet or exceed Euro VI emission standards, following the phasing out of older buses, the retrofitting of diesel vehicles and the introduction of new hybrid & electric buses. [4] In September 2021, TfL announced that all new buses entering service would be zero emission. [5] [6]
By March 2022, over 700 electric buses were in service. [41] In October 2022, rapid charging using a pantograph was introduced for battery electric buses on route 132, the first use of this technology in London. This allows batteries to be 'topped up' during the day. [49]
In August 2023, the 1000th zero emission bus entered service (a Wright StreetDeck Electroliner), [50] with TfL announcing later that month that London had the largest fleet of zero emission buses in Europe. [51]
In November 2023, tour bus operator Tootbus London announced they would be retrofitting their buses with electric drivetrains from Magtec, making them zero-emission. [52] [53]
While hydrogen fuel cell buses had been running in London since 2004, these had all been single decker buses. In June 2021, the world's first hydrogen fuel cell double-decker bus - the Wright StreetDeck Hydroliner - entered service on route 7. [54] [12]
The number of zero emission buses is due to increase to 2,000 by 2025. [55] The entire fleet will be zero emission by 2034, [6] although Transport for London have stated that with additional funding, this could be achieved by 2030. [4]
All future bus routes that will use the Silvertown Tunnel - a new crossing of the River Thames in East London - will be zero emission when the tunnel opens in 2025. [56]
A variety of hybrid vehicles are currently used. These include Alexander Dennis Enviro200H, Wright Electrocity, Optare Tempo and BYD electric bus single-deckers and Volvo B5LH, Wright Gemini 2, Alexander Dennis Enviro400H, and New Routemaster double-deckers.
Battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles currently used include Alexander Dennis Enviro200 EV and Optare MetroCity EV single-deckers and Wright StreetDeck, Optare MetroDecker EV and Alexander Dennis Enviro400 EV City.
The introduction of low emission vehicles in London has received praise from the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP), which awarded Transport for London the first ever Low Carbon Champion Award for Buses in July 2010, [57] and an joint award with Wrightbus for the development of the New Routemaster in 2013. [58] On the 10th anniversary of LowCVP in 2013, TfL was awarded an Outstanding Achievement award for their work over the previous ten years - including the congestion charge, low emission zone as well as introduction of hybrid and hydrogen buses. [58]
Research by operator Go-Ahead showed that people would be more likely to travel by bus if they knew the journey would be zero emission. [59]
The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one was delivered in 1968. The layout of the vehicle was conventional for the time, with a half-cab, front-mounted engine and open rear platform, although the coach version was fitted with rear platform doors. Forward entrance vehicles with platform doors were also produced as was a unique front-entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear.
Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn omnibus service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London bus has become a symbol of the city.
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus services to TfL, controlled by the Mayor of London.
A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sight-seeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They appear in many places around the world but are presently most commonly used as mass transport in cities of Britain and Ireland, in Hong Kong, and in Singapore.
The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia, with more than 55,000 produced by December 2019.
A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate electricity generally using oxygen from the air and compressed hydrogen. Most fuel cell vehicles are classified as zero-emissions vehicles that emit only water and heat. As compared with internal combustion vehicles, hydrogen vehicles centralize pollutants at the site of the hydrogen production, where hydrogen is typically derived from reformed natural gas. Transporting and storing hydrogen may also create pollutants. Fuel cells have been used in various kinds of vehicles including forklifts, especially in indoor applications where their clean emissions are important to air quality, and in space applications. Fuel cells are being developed and tested in trucks, buses, boats, ships, motorcycles and bicycles, among other kinds of vehicles.
An electric bus is a bus that is propelled using electric motors as opposed to an internal combustion engine. Electric buses can store the needed electricity on board, or be fed continuously from an external source. The majority of buses storing electricity are battery electric buses, where the electric motor obtains energy from an onboard battery pack, although examples of other storage modes do exist, such as the gyrobus which uses flywheel energy storage. When electricity is not stored on board, it is supplied by contact with outside power sources. For example, overhead wires as in the trolleybus, or with a ground-level power supply, or through inductive charging.
A hybrid electric bus is a bus that combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These type of buses normally use a Diesel-electric powertrain and are also known as hybrid Diesel-electric buses.
London Buses route 360 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Royal Albert Hall and Elephant and Castle, it is operated by London Central.
A low-emission zone (LEZ) is a defined area where access by some polluting vehicles is restricted or deterred with the aim of improving air quality. This may favour vehicles such as bicycles, micromobility vehicles, (certain) alternative fuel vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and zero-emission vehicles such as all-electric vehicles.
A battery electric bus is an electric bus that is driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries. Many trolleybuses use batteries as an auxiliary or emergency power source.
A fuel cell bus is a bus that uses a hydrogen fuel cell as its power source for electrically driven wheels, sometimes augmented in a hybrid fashion with batteries or a supercapacitor. The only emission from the bus is water. Several cities around the world have trialled and tested fuel cell buses, with over 5,600 buses in use worldwide, the majority of which are in China.
The New Routemaster, originally referred to as the New Bus for London and colloquially as the Borismaster or Boris Bus, is a low-floor diesel double-decker bus operated in London, England. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by Wrightbus, it is notable for featuring a "hop-on hop-off" rear open platform similar to the original Routemaster bus design but updated to meet requirements for modern buses to be fully accessible. It first entered service in February 2012.
The Volvo B5LH is a low-floor hybrid electric bus chassis for both single-decker buses and double-decker buses manufactured by Volvo between 2008 and 2023. It is the basis for Volvo's integral 7700 Hybrid full low floor city bus and its successor, the 7900 Hybrid from 2011. In 2008, pre-production batches of both types of chassis were manufactured. Serial production started in June 2010. From 2013 it is also available as an articulated bus chassis. First entering service in London, the B5LH is the only current double decker type in service in the United Kingdom that uses a parallel hybrid drive system.
The Wright StreetDeck is an integral double-decker bus manufactured by Wrightbus since 2014, originally delivered as standard with a Daimler OM934 diesel engine. Hybrid-electric, full-electric and hydrogen-powered variants have subsequently been produced. Production of the StreetDeck range was briefly suspended when Wrightbus entered administration in September 2019.
The Switch Metrodecker is an integral twin-axle double-decker bus produced by British bus manufacturer Switch Mobility since 2014. The bus bears resemblance to the Switch Metrocity, sharing similar interior and exterior features. The MetroDecker was designed as the successor to the Optare Olympus and Scania OmniDekka double-deckers, which were both discontinued in 2011, however unlike these, the MetroDecker is only available in integral form.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City is a low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2018, as an alternative to the standard Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC bodywork. The Enviro400 City is produced at Alexander Dennis' Falkirk and Scarborough factories in the United Kingdom. It is available as a complete integral diesel or hybrid bus, as well as the Enviro400EV complete integral battery electric bus or Scania N280UD compressed natural gas-powered chassis.
There are over 1,400 electric buses operating in Moscow. Mosgortrans operate the largest electric bus fleet in Europe ahead of London's fleet. As of January 2024, electric buses serve around 120 routes and since the beginning of their work, they have carried over 400 million passengers.
The Wright GB Kite is a range of full-size zero-emission single-deck buses manufactured by Wrightbus since 2022. Similar in body style to the diesel powered Wright GB Hawk, the GB Kite is an integral design that can be built as a battery electric vehicle, the Electroliner BEV, and as a fuel cell electric vehicle, the Hydroliner FCEV.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV is a battery electric double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis in partnership with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto since 2018. Based on its Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City body, which was launched in 2015 to compete with the hybrid electric New Routemaster, the Enviro400EV is produced at Alexander Dennis' Falkirk and Scarborough factories in the United Kingdom, with production of the type at the company's Larbert headquarters set to also commence in mid-2023. The Enviro400EV is available both as a complete integral battery electric bus and as a battery electric bus body on a BYD K series chassis, as well the integral Enviro400FCEV fuel cell bus.
Сегодня в столице уже больше 1400 электробусов, которые работают почти на 120 маршрутах.[Today there are already more than 1,400 electric buses in the capital, which operate on almost 120 routes.]
Our zero-emission bus fleet ... has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per passenger kilometres compared to other global cities such as New York, Paris and Vancouver
The number of zero emission vehicles in the fleet is expected to increase to 700 by the end of 2021.
In 1996 LT Buses began a five-year programme to reduce emissions to still lower levels by encouraging the operating companies to specify new cleaner 'Euro 2' engines on new buses and fit oxidising catalysts and use cleaner fuel in existing vehicles.
More than 90% of its services now use ultra-low-sulphur diesel and 20% of buses, including the majority of buses on central London routes, are fitted with mechanisms to reduce emissions. Since 1996 all new buses bought by contracted operators have complied with the "Euro2"emissions standards.
by December 2005 all London Buses will meet a minimum of Euro 2 emissions and be fitted with a particulate filter.
London's zero-emission bus fleet, which is now the largest in Europe