Pure electric double decker for London

London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has announced the world’s first purpose built purely electric double decker is to enter passenger service in London this year. The zero-emission vehicle, built by Chinese manufacturer, BYD, will be trialled on route 16 from October, running between Cricklewood and Victoria Station. London will also shortly be welcoming two Irizar-manufactured electric single-deckers. These new models join eight single deck electric buses manufactured by Optare and BYD, which have been used in the city’s fleet since 2013. The Capital’s first pure electric bus route, the 312 (between Norwood and South Croydon) will also be created later this year.

This news was aired at the Clean Bus Summit, a gathering of representatives and major bus manufacturers from across the globe at City Hall, London. Personnel from BYD, Volvo, Wrightbus, Optare, Mercedes-Benz and ADL attended the event and signed up to a commitment to support cities in delivering fleets of new ultra-low emission buses. The World Bank and Green Investment Bank have also signed it. This builds on the Global Clean Bus Declaration, developed by the Mayor in partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, launched in Buenos Aires in March 2015. Four additional cities (Amsterdam, Lima, Catalonia and Rome) endorsed the declaration, which is still open for additional signatories.