Request ID: FOI-2253-2021
Date published: 26 February 2021
1. Can you confirm the date of delivery and conversion of route 7 to double-deck electric buses?
We do not have a single delivery date as the buses will be delivered to the operator as and when they come off the production line and are certified for use. The final vehicles are expected to be available to the operator from summer 2021.
Recently a photo has emerged to reveal double-deck hydrogens have been delivered to Perivale Garage.
2. Why have the rollout of double-deck hydrogen buses been delayed, can you specify the reason and impacts?
Many bus manufacturers like Wrightbus have been impacted by the pandemic and the need to bring in new COVID-safe working practices to protect their staff. Many also furloughed staff which vastly reduced their capacity to build and test vehicles. The construction of the hydrogen refuelling station has also been impacted by the pandemic and the need to bring in new COVID-safe working practices to protect construction staff, and in the ability of specialist staff from Denmark being able to travel to the UK to complete the commissioning process.
3. Are they owned by TfL or Metroline? Will a further number of these vehicles considered to be owned by TfL or bus operators?
TfL will own the buses and lease them to Metroline.
The arrangement is the same for the three-door, two-staircase hybrid bus known as New Routemaster. TfL does not own the battery-electric buses and instead they prefer bus operators to own/lease them for their contracted routes.
4. What is the cost of a single double-deck hydrogen bus from Wrightbus/Bamford Bus Company? And 5. What is the total cost of the double-deck hydrogen rollout project?
The total contract price for the 20 vehicles was £10.85m which equates to £543k per bus. Grant funding of £1.41m was provided by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, and €5.22m from the Fuels Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (a European Union funded research organisation) which reduced the net cost of the vehicles to TfL to £238k per bus.
The contract is published on the Government contracts finder website here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/63f8fc28-0124-4552-9d2a-01e8a423cc7b?origin=SearchResults&p=1
In comparison to the New Routemaster, according to another FOI release, the cost of the individual NRM was around £325k from the final batches. The total cost of the NRM project was £346 million.
6. Which routes have been considered to convert to hydrogen and electric (single-deck and double-deck) buses?
In the case of hydrogen buses, we have chosen route 7 because it is operated by Metroline and can be easily supported by a new refuelling depot in Perivale. In terms of electric buses, we do not have a schedule of routes to convert as we want to use our cost-efficient route tendering process to attract bids from operators. These bids help inform the choices of routes where we might deploy these buses, sometimes in combinations with other vehicles to maximise overall numbers cost efficiently.
7. When will TfL replace the New Routemaster buses with pure electric and hydrogen buses?
Unfortunately TfL won’t do mid-term conversion of routes to zero-emission battery or hydrogen buses. We’ll have to wait until the new tender awards are announced which should reveal the bus type and start date of the new contracts.
8. Can you reveal the current and future plans including negotiations with Wrightbus/Bamford Bus Company?
While we do not have plans for further hydrogen fuel-cell buses at this time, we are seeking Government funding to continue the roll out of zero-emission vehicles to assist with improved air quality and reduced carbon emissions. Subject to this funding being available, we will continue to liaise with bus manufacturers over our objectives to help them plan their commercial strategies. As the vast majority of buses joining the fleet are purchased or leased by our operators, they would engage directly with suppliers over the procurement of these vehicles. Our aim is to try to bring in increasing numbers so that we can make the fleet entirely zero-emission by 2037 or earlier, subject to the investment required becoming available.
You can view the fleet list of the Wrightbus double-deck hydrogens (Streetdeck H2) on ‘Bus Lists on the Web’. The vehicles are currently in service in Aberdeen and Belfast; soon they will enter service on London Bus route 7 and services in Birmingham.
There have been previous Freedom of Information requests made to TfL regarding hydrogen buses, including the single-deckers that were previously used on route RV1 and 444. I will show you various excerpts of the previous requests below.
Request ID: FOI-1723-2021
Date published: 09 December 2020
Can you specify the make and model of hydrogen buses for these routes?
The buses are being built by Wrightbus based in Northern Ireland. They are Streetdeck H2 10.9m double deck buses.
What is the total cost of the project?
TfL is investing £12m in the new buses and the fuelling infrastructure. More than £5 million of funding is being provided by European bodies and £1 million by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles.
Can you provide more details of your current and future plans of the hydrogen bus rollout?
Firstly, we need to see how these different technologies and the supporting infrastructure that is required develop. In the case of hydrogen, we also need to see how cleanly and cheaply this type of energy might be produced in future. We are keeping our options open so we can move forward with the best technologies as they develop.
Request ID: FOI-0053-2021
Date published: 15 April 2020
Have any buyers come forward or sale agreed and to whom?
The hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles remain in the London fleet but are not in use currently. They were previously deployed on the RV1 service between Covent Garden and Tower Gateway until it was withdrawn in 2019. They were then moved to the 444 service before this route was retendered and moved to another operator, with electric vehicles subsequently deployed. The trial of these second generation vehicles is coming to a conclusion, however, as the refuelling contract ended in March 2020.
We would like the vehicles to continue in some operational capacity as they still have life in them after mostly 10 years of service, although that is unlikely to be in London. We are engaging with stakeholders including private businesses, universities and manufacturers to see if there is interest in running them, potential locally or elsewhere in the UK, or using them in a way that helps develop or raise the profile of hydrogen vehicle technologies. As this is at an early stage, we have made no decisions on their future and any residual value they might have for us should they move to a third party.
Request ID: FOI-2041-1920
Date published: 08 November 2019
3. Will TfL directly own the double-deck hydrogen buses using the same arrangement with 1,000 of the New Routemaster buses?
Yes.
4. Why is TfL paying for the double-deck hydrogens instead of private bus operators for their contracted routes?
LBSL was awarded Horizon 2020 funding for the purposes of purchasing and operating hydrogen fuel cell buses.
6. Which bus routes will they be used on?
Potentially routes 7, N7 and 245 but this is subject to agreements of contract extensions and awards, and may change.
Request ID: FOI-0741-1819
Date published: 29 June 2018
1. I understand there are eight hydrogen fuelled vehicles operated by TFL as of 2017. Does the number still remain the same?
There are currently 10 fuel cell buses operating in TfL’s bus fleet.
2. What is your plan to introduce next hydrogen fuelled vehicles? E.g. how many, by when, etc?
TfL is currently looking to procure up to 20 hydrogen buses and a hydrogen refuelling station. There are no firm deadlines for delivery of buses or infrastructure.
3. Who were the manufactures of those buses?
Two of the 10 existing fuel cell buses are made by Van-Hool and the remaining eight buses are made by Wrightbus Pulsar (VDL ISE Hydrogen Fuel Cell)
5. How do you re-fuel the buses? Where do you re-fuel them?
The existing 10 hydrogen buses are fuelled at Lea Interchange bus garage.
6.How do you find the hydrogen-powered vehicles compared to diesel vehicles?
Eight of the 10 fuel cell buses have been in operation since 2010, and two Van-Hool buses joined the fleet in 2018. The buses continue to operate in service without any operational issues.
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