busnews.com.au May 2019 ABC^9TRANSPORTFORLONDON(TfL)has
ordered 20 of the “world first” hydrogen
double-decker buses from Wrightbus to
“help tackle London’s toxic air”, it’s been
announced recently.
Arriving next year, the new double-
deckers will be introduced on three
London bus routes, helping tackle the
capital’s air quality crisis, TfL states.
The 20 ‘green’ buses – which produce no
pollution from their exhausts – are part of
TfL’s drive to make London’s transport zero-
emission, it says. It follows the introduction
of the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone
last month.
The environment-friendly vehicles will be
introduced on routes 245, 7 and N7, with
people traveling to Wembley Stadium, or
from west London to the West End, able
to hop on the new green buses for a
smoother and quieter journey, it states.
The new, modern buses will also
enhance the customer experience, with
on-board USB charging points making bus
travel even more attractive.A MAJOR INVESTMENT
TfL is investing £12m (A$22.3m) in the
new buses and the fuelling infrastructure,
it confirms.
Wrightbus, based in Northern Ireland,
will manufacture them, creating new jobs
in the region, it’s claimed.
More than £5 million of funding is
being provided by European bodies and
£1m (A$1.9m) from the Office of Low
Emission Vehicles.
To encourage the take-up of this
“trailblazing” technology in other cities
in the UK and Europe, TfL is leading
procurement within the ‘Joint Initiative for
hydrogen Vehicles across Europe’ (JIVE)
project. JIVE aims to bring down the cost
of the vehicles by buying in bulk with other
authorities – helping put the price per bus
on a par with the other cleanest fuels.
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said:
“We all have a role to play in cleaning up
London’s toxic air and I’ve always said that
TfL should lead from the front.”
“Following the launch of the world-
first Ultra Low Emission Zone last month
I’m delighted that TfL has today signed
a contract to bring 20 state-of-the-art,
zero-emission hydrogen buses to London’sstreets. We are investing a record £85m
(A$158m) in cleaning up our bus fleet,
and I am proud that London now has the
largest zero-emission bus fleet in Europe.” GREENING TRANSPORT
As part of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy,
TfL is committed to using only the cleanest
buses in its fleet, it says.
No fewer than 10 Low Emission Bus
Zones have been introduced, reducing
harmful NOx emissions by 90 per cent
on some of the capital’s busiest roads, it
claims.
All of the buses in the Ultra Low Emission
Zone and 75 per cent of the entire bus
fleet already meets these standards, with
all buses set to be upgraded by October- This will make the whole city a Low
Emission Bus Zone.
Greening transport in the capital will
require using a range of clean power
sources, the government confirms.
Hydrogen buses can store more energy
on board than equivalent buses, meaning
they can be deployed on longer routes.
They only need to be refuelled once a
day for five minutes, making them much
quicker to power up when compared
with conventional battery-electric buses,
it explains.
The double-decker hydrogen buses
will expand TfL’s growing number of
zero-emission buses.
There are currently a total of 165 zero
emission buses, with a further 68 electric
double-deckers on the roads by the
[European] summer.
TfL has also recently announced that the
route 323 will become fully electric next
year, along with two further routes, which
will be announced later this month. It is
expected the StreetDeck will be used.
“We pride ourselves on
providing engineering solutions
that meet the developing needs
of our customers, and we’re
more than ready to take on
the challenge of developing
the best possible bus body for
electric buses.”
PROVEN TECHNOLOGY
Tozer says thanks to its
long-standing partnership
with Swiss manufacturer Hess
and other OEMs, Volgren has
access to a range of electric bus
technologies and types, including
electric rigid, articulated and
bi-articulated (rubber-tyred
tram) buses.
It also has access to a
multitude of proven charge and
battery technologies already in
operation around the world.
“To further assist operators,
Volgren has partnered with
businesses that can provide
infrastructure installation, grid
connections and upgrades
and funding and leasing
models on the bus, batteries or
infrastructure.”
“We’re helping them close the
loop as they shift from a diesel
bus to an electric.”
Tozer says the first bus will
become available to the market
in August after a month of
testing, which will be undertaken
by Volgren’s engineering
department.
“We’re looking forward to the
new chapter in the history of the
Australian bus industry and being
able to offer our customers the
latest technology.”
“Volgren is open to discussing
in detail our project and future
solutions available to market with
operators.”
BY DESIGN
When ABC magazine asked
about the overall body design
and whether it would be
something entirely new, a source
close to the issue answered: “It’s
early in the build and pictures
will be shared with the public
when it comes online.”
We’ll have full pics of the
completed bus soon.
“WORLD FIRST” HYDROGEN DOUBLE-
DECKER BUSES FOR LONDON