When you see a doubledecker bus, London comes to my. Their iconic buses rule the capital, where nearly 1,000 routes are operated by 8,700 buses. Now the world’s first pure electric zero-emission double-decker bus, designed and built by Chinese automotive manufacturer BYD, will enter service in London.
The Transport for London (TfL) celebrated the historic decision to deploy its first all-electric double decker buses with a special ceremony at London city hall this week with London’s Deputy Mayor of Environment and Energy, Matthew Pencharz formally receiving the first bus from BYD Europe. “It’s a very exciting moment that this is happening here. The running costs are much lower and some of the maintenance and operations costs are much lower on the buses. Also, these buses are zero-emission, zero tailpipe-pollution and that is a huge benefit for Londoners,” Pencharz said.
Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Auto Europe says “The electric double-decker represents a technology breakthrough in public transportation.” “In the past, electric vehicle manufacturers have produced electric buses with three batteries – at the vehicles front, back and top, but this design would not work with the doubledecker bus. BYD’s advanced technology is able to make the batteries more compact, so the battery on top of the bus is no longer required.”
The London bus looks like every other London bus, but beneath its bright red exterior lurks an all-electric powertrain that makes it the first ever double-decker bus to be powered by electrons alone. The new buses are are 10.2 meters long and designed to travel 290 km on a single charge, which should mean they can cruise London’s streets all day long without having to recharge. They are powered by 345 kWh iron phosphate batteries. The buses can hold 54 seated passengers and 27 standees. The first five buses will operate on London’s Route 98.
According to the agency, by 2020, all single decker buses operating in central London, will be ‘zero-emission’. Each bus will cost a whopping $665,832 to build.