Finally! The double deck battery electric bus has
appeared again, this time outside City Hall.
From BYD Press release
A
short ceremony this afternoon welcomed the arrival on London streets of a
global first – a completely emissions
free pure electric double decker especially designed and developed for
Transport for London (TfL) by BYD.
Held
at City Hall, the event saw Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy
Matthew Pencharz formally receive the first bus from Isbrand Ho, Managing
Director of BYD Europe. This vehicle is one of a fleet of five which will shortly be entering service on Route 98 operated on behalf of TfL by Metroline. BYD is working with TfL and
Metroline on an introduction programme which includes driver training and the
installation of fast charging equipment at Metroline’s
Willesden Bus Garage in north London.
The
100% BYD designed and developed
vehicle is 10.2m long, features full
air conditioning and offers seats for a
total 54 passengers with a further 27 standees spaces (total passengers: 81). The BYD Iron Phosphate batteries deliver 345 kWh of power and can run for
up to 190 miles of typical urban
driving according to the internationally recognised SORT test conditions.
Recharging takes just four hours and can be completed overnight using low cost off peak electricity. This is
more than enough to handle most daily duty cycles.
“The
Mayor of London challenged us saying that he
did not believe an electric double decker was technically feasible but we
took up the challenge and in less than
two years created the bus Londoners can see today”, said Isbrand Ho,
Managing Director of BYD Europe. “This is not a hybrid bus but a totally emissions free product which will give
London a world leading position in its efforts to improve air quality”.
Leon
Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director for Surface Transport, said: “BYD are a
brilliant supplier. They lead the world in electric bus technology and we thank
them for their efforts to make this new double decker a reality”.
Also, according to The Evening Standard, each BYD Double Deck eBus
is expected to cost £350,000. That is around the same price for a 3 door 2
staircase hybrid bus known as the New
Routemaster.
As I have said in my previous article, the mayoral candidates have
pledged to roll out zero emission buses such as the battery electric buses and
hydrogen buses.
Also a
two door variant of the New Routemaster was unveiled. I will let you know more
about it in my next article, so in the meantime, here is the photo of the new
bus from a Flickr user.
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