TfL has announced the new London bus tender awards for mid-November 2019; it has revealed three routes will be served with double deck pure electric buses.
Thursday 14 November
LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:
| Route | Current Operator | New Operator | PVR | Vehicles |
| 23* | Tower Transit | Tower Transit | 24 | New electric double deck |
| 139* | London Sovereign | Metroline | 23 | New & existing hybrid double deck |
| 202 | Metrobus | Arriva London South | 15 | New hybrid double deck |
| 319* | Arriva London South | Arriva London South | 19 | New electric double deck |
| 324 | Metroline | Metroline | 7 | Existing diesel single deck |
| 326 | London Sovereign | London Sovereign | 15 | Existing diesel single deck |
| 405 | Metrobus | Arriva London South | 9 | New hybrid double deck |
| 466 | Arriva London South | Arriva London South | 19 | Existing diesel double deck |
| C3 | Abellio London | Tower Transit | 9 | New electric double deck |
| N5** | Metroline | London Sovereign | n/a | Existing hybrid double deck |
| N20** | Metroline | Metroline | n/a | Existing hybrid double deck |
* 24 hour route (319 weekends only).
** Night only routes using buses sourced from day routes.
All diesel & hybrid vehicles will meet Euro VI emissions standards.
The above contracts will commence on the following dates:
· 25th July 2020: Routes 23, 326, N5 & N20
· 29th August 2020: Route 139, 405 & 466
· 12th September 2020: Route 319
· 19th September 2020: Route 202
· 3rd October 2020: Route C3
· 24th October 2020: Route 324
Electric vehicles may enter service later than these dates owing to infrastructure delivery timescales.
It will be interesting to see which double deck electric buses Arriva will choose for their newly won route 319. The electric buses with double deck specification that are available for them to use are the BYD/ADL Enviro400EV with City bodywork and Optare Metrodecker EV.
Tower Transit announced in their news release that they have won routes 23 and C3 using double-deck electric buses; they featured the image of the Optare Metrodecker EV which shows the possibility they will be using this vehicle for their newly won route contracts.
Just to recap, a Freedom of Information release has revealed the routes converting to zero emission battery electric buses are routes 94, 100, 106, 212, 230, 323, 357, 444, C10 and P5.
The FOI release also stated:
We do not select the buses, only the capacity, emissions and generic type. Bus operators will choose from the range of makes and models available that meets the requirement of the route they are bidding for, and buy or lease these, depending on their fleet management strategies.
We expect the buses on upcoming electric routes to be a mix of manufacturers, including but not exclusive to BYD/ADL, Optare, and Caetano.
Since 2018, we have only procured new hybrid or zero-emission double deck buses into the fleet. We specify the emissions standards on all bus routes. It is not mandatory for bus companies to purchase double deck EV buses for their new route contracts.
We will be formulating an electrification strategy for bus operation in London from the end of 2019 onwards as we need a road map to get us from the current 200 vehicles to our ultimate objective of an entirely zero-emission bus fleet by 2037. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy details the current blueprint.
In other news
It's great to see Wrightbus starting delivery of 36 new buses for First Group since the company was taken over by Jo Bamford. I do expect Jo Bamford's new manufacturing to develop a new pure EV double deck bus alongside their double deck hydrogen buses producing for London and Aberdeen. We have a long wait until we see a new product range unveiled by the new Bamford Bus Company.
Land Transport Agency (LTA) in Singapore has announced they will be rolling out 60 pure electric single deck buses for their bus services. They expect the vehicles to be in service during the first half of 2020 and you can read more on the LTA's press release here.
I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92
Related articles