London Buses Tender Awards: Route 55 to Continue Using Hybrid New Routemasters - Routes 322 & 433 to Use Electric Single Deck Buses

Summary

• Existing hybrid New Routemasters (NRMs) will continue to operate with Stagecoach,
• Routes 322 and 433 will use single deck electric buses with Abellio,
• The rest of the tender awards reveal bus operators will use existing buses for their route contracts,
• BYD & Alexander Dennis jointly announce a new order of 195 electric buses by RATP Dev London.

The recent London Buses tender awards have revealed route 55 will continue to use three-door, two-staircase hybrid New Routemasters with Stagecoach London.

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

Route	Current Operator	New Operator	PVR	Vehicles
55/N55	Stagecoach East London	Stagecoach East London	33	Existing New Routemaster
56	Stagecoach East London	Stagecoach East London	19	Existing hybrid double deck
322	London General	Abellio London	10	New electric single deck
350	Abellio West London	Abellio West London	5	Existing diesel single deck
397	HCT Group	HCT Group	6	Existing diesel single deck
433	Abellio London	Abellio London	9	New electric single deck*
667	Blue Triangle	Stagecoach East London	3	Existing diesel double deck
677	Stagecoach East London	Blue Triangle	1	Existing diesel double deck
W16	HCT Group	HCT Group	9	Existing diesel single deck

* Certain journeys will be operated by Euro VI diesel single decks.

All diesel and hybrid vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards.

The above contracts will commence on the following dates:

26th February 2022: Routes 55/N55, 56 & 397.
5th March 2022: Route W16.
12th March 2022: Routes 667 & 677.
30th April 2022: Routes 322 & 350.
21st May 2022: Route 433.

It’s quite disappointing because I was expecting more routes to convert to electric buses as part of the new contracts for bus operators, which would help TfL to achieve their ambition of making their fleet 100% zero emission by year 2030, in accordance with their Financial Sustainability Plan.

From EV Bus

BYD UK and Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) jointly confirmed today that their electric vehicle partnership, the UK’s leading electric bus producer, will deliver the UK’s largest ever electric bus order. The order has been placed by RATP Dev London, one of Transport for London (TfL)’s principal bus operators, for a total of 195 single and double deck vehicles.

With this order, RATP Dev London confirms its commitment to supporting TfL’s electrification plan for London’s bus network, a key objective of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy for 2018, under which all TfL buses will be zero emissions by 2037, with all of London’s transport becoming emissions free by 2037.

BYD is a global leader in batteries, energy management and electric mobility. ADL is a subsidiary of leading independent global bus manufacturer NFI Group Inc. (NFI).

The record order comes as the BYD ADL partnership continues to go from strength to strength, just five years after it was launched, thanks to its proven combination of BYD’s world-class battery electric driveline technology and ADL’s British-built bodies, which can be fully customised to reflect operating requirements. In London alone, over 400 BYD ADL electric buses have cumulatively covered over 20 million zero-emission miles, with close to another 300 vehicles on order including this latest intake for RATP Dev London. RATP Dev London will be the largest operator of electric buses in London by the beginning of 2022, with close to 25% of its London United and London Sovereign fleet fully electric.

Deliveries of RATP Dev London’s latest BYD ADL fleet will begin in the summer. 68 BYD ADL Enviro200EV single decks – including 21 compact 10.2-metre models – and 127 BYD ADL Enviro400EV double decks will be based at RATP Dev London’s Fulwell, Harrow and Shepherd’s Bush depots to serve routes in the west of the capital. The buses will join 36 existing BYD ADL single decks in service since 2018 and 29 BYD ADL double decks delivered last year. Feedback from RATP Dev London on these in-service vehicles has been very positive, with the double deck BYD ADL Enviro400EV in particular delivering exceptional reliability on 24-hour route operations.

Catherine Chardon, Managing Director of RATP Dev London, said, “Electrification is a critical part of our business and partnership with Transport for London (TfL). We launched our two first 100% electric routes less than two years ago, as well as London’s first fully electric 24-hour double-decker bus route last year. By the beginning of 2022, we will operate 15 zero emission routes and have five of our garages converted to electric. This agreement will help RATP Dev London position itself as the leading electric bus services provider in the city. We are proud to work hand in hand with TfL to help London achieve its sustainability goals.”

BYD UK Managing Director, Frank Thorpe, said, “Naturally, this is a hugely significant moment in the development of the BYD brand in the UK. Public transport in the capital often provides the blueprint for other towns and cities and the fact that a major operator like RATP Dev is making such a substantial commitment to eMobility will, I believe, resonate with Local Authorities across the UK. The increasing electrification of routes by TfL operators is delivering long-term productivity to their fleets and real environmental benefits for Londoners.”

Paul Davies, ADL President & Managing Director, said: “RATP Dev London’s record order is a resounding vote of confidence in our British-built electric buses and ADL’s proven ability to tailor these to authorities and operators’ requirements. These buses will build on our pioneering work in support of Transport for London’s Bus Safety Standard with a focus on safety for drivers, passengers and other road users.”

I wrote in my previous article about RATP Dev London using new Enviro400EV City buses alongside existing hybrid New Routemasters on route 148. I suggested that Stagecoach London should make new orders of a small number of Enviro400EV City buses to use alongside existing hybrid buses on routes 55 and 56.

TfL explained in a Freedom of Information request as to why bus routes are being retained with existing diesel and hybrid buses:

Request ID: FOI-1616-2021
Date published: 02 December 2020

“Some routes will be re-tendered with new vehicles which may be hybrid diesel electric, pure electric or hydrogen fuel-cell. However, there will be other routes that come up for retender which may continue using the same ultra-clean diesel buses for another term. Operators can bid for routes with new and existing vehicles which offers us more competitive value for money options. As we have a limited budget, affordability is also a factor.”

And from another FOI request:

Request ID: FOI-1973-2021
Date published: 18 January 2021

“Our focus is on achieving cost effective roll out of zero-emission buses and conversion of the entire route was not cost effective.”

The situation between the Mayor, TfL and the Department for Transport has been extremely political because the Coronavirus pandemic has hit the finances of TfL. I won’t go in to detail here about the situation but you can read TfL’s statement, Mayor’s statement, Department for Transport news release, correspondence and written statement to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Transport for more details of the current financial settlement which is expected to last until 11 December 2021.

The above links explain why TfL is on a limited budget and stuck with limited options to invest in their projects in order to improve services. For example, the New Routemaster Midlife Refurbishment Project will not provide additional features such as USB charging ports for passengers to charge their devices on the refurbished NRMs. You can read more about it in my previous article.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92 or clicking on the direct link to my Twitter page here.

Related article
London Bus Tender Awards: Routes 148 & 415 to Continue Using New Routemasters and Route U5 to Convert to Double-Deck Electrics

Image attribution
By Martin49 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/105365436@N07/16810087352/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91597123