Transport for London’s 2025 Consultation Reports on Bus Service Changes Reveal Ongoing Demand for the New Routemaster and Tram Buses

Last updated: 26th June 2026

Wrightbus Electroliner, New Routemaster and Irizar ie Tram
at Crystal Palace Bus Station

This is the follow up to the previous articles from last year and the year before where I gathered information from Transport for London’s consultation reports and highlighted the requests for zero-emission New Routemaster (NRM) and tram-style buses.

Let’s take a look at the 2025 consultation reports I have researched:

Transport for London’s 2024 Consultation Reports on Bus Service Changes Reveal Ongoing Demand for the New Routemaster and Tram Buses

Last updated - 18 September 2025

Silhouette of the New Routemaster and Irizar ie tram

This is a follow-up to my previous article from last year, where I gathered information from Transport for London’s consultation reports and highlighted the requests for zero-emission New Routemaster (NRM) and tram-style buses.

Let’s take a look at the 2024 consultation reports I have researched:

Tram-Style Electric Buses Finally Launch on London Buses Route 358!

Irizar ie tram on Route 358 - TfL Image

At Last!

 

After several years of delays due to infrastructure issues and multiple Freedom of Information requests to Transport for London (TfL), the Irizar ie tram has finally launched on London Buses Route 358!

From TfL Press release:

• New electric buses charged by innovative pantograph technology now on London’s roads

• Striking new tram-like bus design includes enhanced safety and customer features

• More than 1,700 zero-emission buses now in service in London

From today, Wednesday 20 November, new, stylish, tram-like buses powered by pantograph will be introduced in phases to one of London’s longest bus routes, between Crystal Palace and Orpington. The forward-thinking pantograph technology on route 358 allows fast, high-power charging of the new buses at each end of the 15-mile journey, through an arm-like structure attached to the bus roof, in as little as six minutes. This means drivers do not return to garages to recharge.

 

TfL Anticipates the Launches of Irizar Ie Tram Buses for Route 358 in June 2024 and a New DLR Train in Spring 2024

Transport for London (TfL) has posted multiple Freedom of Information (FOI) requests on their website, which has caught my attention. This is in relation to the delay in the launch of the Irizar Ie Tram buses for route 358 and the new Docklands Light Railway (DLR) B23 rolling stock train.

Firstly, we take a look at the FOI request for the Irizar Ie Tram, which is expected to launch on route 358 this year.

Request ID: FOI-3532-2324
Date published: 30 January 2024

Delays to the rollout of Irizar ie tram style buses for route 358

1. Would you be able to provide information about the delay in the rollout?

Transport for London’s 2023 Consultation Reports for Bus Service Changes Reveal Popularity for the New Routemaster and Tram Buses

Last updated: 5 August 2024

New Routemaster and Irizar Ie Tram

Some of my readers have seen on Twitter/X posting certain pages of various consultations about the proposed London bus service changes, especially with the proposed new routes for the Superloop express bus network. According to the comments TfL received on their consultations, there have been requests to use New Routemasters and Tram Buses on various bus routes in London. What is bizarre is that the Tram Buses haven’t been launched on route 358.

My Brief Review On The New Enviro400EV Product By Alexander Dennis, And Why Creativity Is Important For Bus Manufacturing

First of all, I wish my readers a Happy New Year. I hope we see some interesting developments in the year 2023. :)

In this article, I'm doing a brief review on the new Enviro400EV product by Alexander Dennis and explain why creativity is important for bus manufacturing.

Transport news roundup for February 2020 – Electric buses for Los Angeles & stylish biogas buses for Bristol

This is a selection of various transport news which occured during the month of February 2020.

First of all, my prediction turned out to be correct in a article I wrote back in November 2019 when Tower Transit won routes 23 and C3; I expected them to use Optare Metrodecker EVs for their new route contracts.

January 2020 Transport news roundup: New trains for Nexus Tyne and Wear Metro and the rise of electric buses for Europe!

First of all, due to the lack of articles during the last month, I’ve decided to feature most of this months transport news in one article.

Nexus has placed an order for new trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro in North East of England.

Extracts from Nexus

28 January 2020

Nexus today announced a chosen manufacturer for its contract to build new trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro, as part of a £362m investment which will transform performance and passenger experience, deliver huge energy savings and secure and create hundreds of jobs in the UK supply chain.

Irizar electric buses for London Bus routes W13 and 153

Recently, Irizar demonstrated their range of buses at the Coach & Bus 2017 exhibition in Birmingham. One of the electric buses is set to be trialled on London Bus routes W13 and 153.

From Irizar press release

A new generation of sustainable and luxurious coaches and buses with Irizar’s leading-edge technology

What happened to the Virtual Electric buses for route 69?

I'd like to announce that the Alexander Dennis Enviro400H MMC Virtual Electric buses haven’t been in service for a month.

According to London Vehicle Finder, one of the Virtual Electric buses for route 69 was last seen on 4th February 2016. I don’t know what's happened to them and can only guess they have a mechanical problem due to the electric hybrid system. LOTS bus news have also reported that “The electric Enviro400s DH38501-03, always very intermittent in service, have not been used since 4th February.”

London Buses routes 507 & 521 to be fully served with electric buses. (at last!)

Yes, more of these are coming.

TFL have issued a new press release about the Red Arrow bus routes 507 & 521, announcing that they're to have electric buses from the autumn next year.

Here is the press release:

Transport for London (TfL) has today (Wednesday 15 July) announced that two further bus routes, the 507 and 521, will operate entirely with electric buses from autumn next year, lowering carbon emissions and helping to improve London's air quality.

Update for the electric buses for London for routes 16, 69, 312 507 & 521

On 4^th July 2015, LOTS (London Omnibus Traction Society) updated their news page regarding the electric buses for London.

They said:

Specs for the new BYD Double Deck Electric Bus compared to the New Routemaster

Design of the eBus is taken from the specification file.

This is another 'follow up' to my previous article. The previous article became very popular due to the images of the real double deck electric bus that I found.

BYD has unveiled the specifications for their double deck electric bus. In the table below you can see the comparison to the New Routemaster, which is hybrid diesel electric.

2 New Electric buses for London

Irizar and Go-Ahead, London’s biggest bus operator, have signed an agreement for two Irizar i2e electric buses to be put into operation in London from the end of July.

I am unable to copy the text from the press release from Irizar because the PDF file is from images instead of text, so you can view it here.

From Route One magazine:

By placing electric buses in the UK, Irizar not only shows its “capacity for adapting to the needs of markets and operators” but also “reaffirms its intention of positioning