I’ve been looking through the board papers on the TfL website, and at the recent papers which were published for the July 29 meeting. I discovered that there are plans to accelerate the zero-emission bus fleet plan, also known as MTS (Mayor Transport Strategy) to 2030 in order to achieve the ambition of making London Transport carbon neutral.
The extracts from the board papers:
Finance Report and Revised Budget (PDF) - Draft Revised Budget 2020/21
Decarbonising transport
We want to accelerate our MTS (Mayor Transport Strategy) ambition of a zero emission bus fleet by 2037 to 2030. Accelerating our ambition to 2030, will secure 3000 UK green jobs in the North, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and could easily see that grow another 20% to 3600. 2030 saves an additional 3m tonnes of carbon.It requires £1bn of investment from HMG, but accounting for like for like replacement of buses, and very large fuel savings, this £1bn investment translates as a nearly £4bn gross investment into bus manufacturing.
Our next goal is to move as quickly as possible from a low emission, to a progressively zero-tailpipe-emission fleet. We currently have around 300 zero emission electric buses and plan to raise this total to 2,000 vehicles by 2024 and then lift the rest of our buses to this standard no later than 2037, supported by the necessary infrastructure at garages.
8,182 TfL buses across London met the Euro VI standard at the end of March 2020. We were on target to have an entirely Euro VI fleet by October 2020 prior to COVID-19 and will review the level of delay as we come out of lockdown. We are introducing over 200 electric single-deck buses into central London by summer 2020, with the whole bus fleet due to be zero emission by 2037.
The Mayor of London confirmed this by announcing the creation of new jobs for the bus and taxi manufacturing industry, by rolling out more zero-emission vehicles for London.
Mayor of London press release - 5 times greater reduction in NO2 in London than rest of the country
Action to improve air quality can also deliver wider benefits: for instance the requirement for new London taxis to be Zero Emission Capable led to private sector investment of over £300m and the creation of over a thousand new jobs in Coventry. Plans to transform London’s bus fleet to zero emissions will help secure 3,000 green jobs in the North, Scotland and Northern Ireland
The Taxi manufacturer in Coventry is London Electric Vehicle Company.
Bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis announces cuts to their workforce due to lack of new orders during the Coronavirus pandemic.
From Alexander Dennis
With many UK customers not in a position to place orders for new vehicles following the impact of lockdown, social distancing and low passenger numbers, ADL has utilised the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme as well as implementing salary reductions and reduced working hours for non-furloughed staff, along with stringent cost saving measures across all business functions. However, the steps taken so far are insufficient to align the company’s cost base to the current economic reality and it now seeks to move to a leaner, more flexible manufacturing model that maintains its strong customer focus and best-in-class aftermarket support.
A formal consultation will begin in the coming weeks on the restructuring programme, which places up to 650 jobs at risk across all functions and at all of ADL’s facilities in the UK.
Colin Robertson, who is transitioning from his role as ADL’s Chief Executive to join NFI’s Board as Vice Chair, said: “A few short months ago, we were looking at a record year of sales, reaping the benefits of all our investment in new technology, new products and new markets. All of this changed with the impact of COVID-19.
“Since March, we have been in constant dialogue with the UK and Scottish Governments to make them aware of the unprecedented crisis facing our industry. We are deeply grateful for the support offered by the UK Government’s Job Retention Scheme, and we are heartened by the Prime Minister’s reiteration earlier this month of the pledge he made in February to bring 4,000 new green buses into service. We continue to call upon both Governments to act now to prevent further job cuts and preserve the UK’s world-leading bus and coach manufacturing industry.”
ADL remains firmly committed to working with its customers and supporting the bus and coach operating industry which itself is battling an unprecedented crisis. Paul Davies, ADL President & Managing Director, explains: “As the UK’s leading bus builder and the world leader in double deck buses, we aim to continue to play a key role in delivering on Governments’ congestion, decarbonisation and clean air targets. We have the technology, experience, skilled workforce, capacity and commitment to deliver thousands of new green buses.”
Alexander Dennis has stated on Twitter they will continue to offer all of their products.
What about the three-door, two-staircase hybrid New Routemasters?
TfL stated “We envisage hybrid buses, such as the New Routemasters continuing to be an integral part of our fleet and being joined by rising numbers of solely electric buses”.
Going back to the July 29 TfL board papers:
TfL board Agenda papers (PDF) - Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
Batteries for Electric Vehicles:
The supplier of electric batteries for the 950 new Routemaster buses in London has committed to working with us to understand and address the risks of labour rights abuses in the supply chain. This includes mapping its supply chain of the conflict minerals, cobalt and lithium, and gaining an understanding of the labour conditions and human rights at extraction.
As mentioned in my previous article, TfL is converting the entire New Routemaster fleet to front-door only boarding to reduce fare evasion, although the third/rear door will continue to be used for exiting the bus only.
I personally think bus manufacturers should design a new three-door, two-staircase zero emission bus with a newer ‘eye-catching’ body to ‘succeed’ the New Routemaster in terms of styling and emission standards.
I’m not a video gamer but I have however noticed a new game called Watch Dogs: Legion, which is set in Central London. They have a New Routemaster-inspired bus named 'Matarhorn TQ500'as a drivable vehicle. The game is developed by Ubisoft Toronto.
It will be down to TfL to decide if they wish to continue using three-door, two-staircase buses once the hybrid New Routemasters have been operating for 14 years.
Some of my readers may know there’s already a two-door, one-staircase double-deck electric bus with bodywork inspired by the New Routemaster, and that is the Alexander Dennis-BYD Enviro400EV City.
The Enviro400EV City currently serves London Bus routes 43, 94, 106, 212, 230 and 357. They are expected to appear on routes 20, 173, 174, 319 and 673.
You can read more on the aftermath of the New Routemaster rollout here.
I’m also aware that new bus manufacturer ‘Arrival’ (not to be mistaken with bus operator Arriva) has unveiled their new single-deck electric bus prototype.
Here’s the video of the prototype in Milbrook Proving Ground.
I’ve checked the Arrival website and their electric vehicle products are eye-catching. It will be interesting to see their upcoming double-deck electric bus once they develop and build the prototype.
There’s no news update from Wrightbus about the rollout of double-deck hydrogens for London, although there’s an update for Aberdeen. We are still waiting for London bus route 23 to convert to Optare Metrodecker EV, selected by bus operator Tower Transit for their new contract.
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