E-MAIL
Two Chinese-built BYD electric buses enter service in London on Thursday (19 December). They are being operated by Go-Ahead London on two inter-station services, the 507 between Waterloo and Victoria, and the 521 between Waterloo and London Bridge.
The trial will help Transport for London develop plans for greater use of electric buses in central London. Matthew Pencharz, senior environment and energy advisor to the mayor of London, says: “Electric buses could help deliver the cleaner and greener bus fleet we need to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality. If these prove successful we plan to see more introduced over the next few years to run alongside the hybrid and hydrogen bus technology that is already tackling air pollution and carbon emissions across the capital.”
The views of Pencharz are echoed by Mike Weston, TfL"s director of buses, who adds: “"We will be closely monitoring the performance of these vehicles while they are being trialled here in London. Should the performance and reliability of these buses meet London"s challenging requirements, this could be a very important step towards adopting this new clean technology in the capital.”
BYD Europe managing director Isbrand Ho told busandcoach.com: “We are very excited to have two vehicles going into operation in London this week.
“We are convinced that widespread adoption of the BYD ebus could have a dramatic effect on lowering pollution levels in major cities so this development in London, one of the world"s top cities, is of tremendous importance.”
BYD is aiming to establish its own workshop facilities to support the trial vehicles and further developments in the UK market. The London vehicles have been upgraded from the Chinese originals, with new doors supplied by Ventura which will now become the standard specification for BYD Europe vehicles.
The buses, which weigh in at 14tonnes unladen, take around four to five hours to fully charge overnight and should have a range of 250 kilometres, enough to run for a full day on both routes without the need to recharge. Another six electric buses will be added to the London fleet early next year.