Croydon’s first pure electric ‘emission free’ buses hit the streets

Transport for London (TfL), Arriva and UK bus manufacturer Optare have introduced the latest electric buses to the capital’s fleet. The two Optare MetroCity buses are now in service in Croydon on a route is used by around 4,700 passengers a day. The buses are the latest addition to Europe’s greenest bus fleet and will increase TfL’s experience and understanding of this relatively new technology. The buses have zero tail pipe emissions at point of use, resulting in lower overall carbon emissions.
December 11, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

1466 Transport for London (TfL), 476 Arriva and UK bus manufacturer Optare have introduced the latest electric buses to the capital’s fleet. The two Optare MetroCity buses are now in service in Croydon on a route is used by around 4,700 passengers a day.

The buses are the latest addition to Europe’s greenest bus fleet and will increase TfL’s experience and understanding of this relatively new technology.  The buses have zero tail pipe emissions at point of use, resulting in lower overall carbon emissions.  

The use of the electric buses will establish whether the technology can stand up to the rigours of operating in an intense urban environment such as London.  The manufacturer’s tests demonstrate that while the initial capital cost of these vehicles is more than that of standard diesel, the significantly lower running and maintenance costs would offset this within the typical lifetime of the vehicle.  

The buses take around five hours to fully charge overnight, or two hours using fast charge technology, and have a range of up to 100 miles depending on operating conditions.

Mike Weston, TfL’s Director of Buses, said: “We now have a total of eight pure electric buses in the capital’s fleet which will help increase our experience and understanding of this technology.  London has always been at the forefront of adopting and trialling new green technology and these buses are a welcome addition to the fleet."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Making the case for ALPR in enforcement
    February 2, 2012
    Federal Signal's Brian Shockley uses examples from around the world to make the case for the greater use of automatic license plate recognition technology in the US. It is time, he says, to consider the possibilities of a national network and the use of average speed enforcement
    Read More
  • Why integrated traffic management needs a cohesive approach
    April 10, 2012
    Traffic control is increasingly being viewed as one essential element of a wider ‘system of systems’ – the smart city. Jason Barnes, Jon Masters and David Crawford report on latest ideas and efforts for making cities ‘smarter’ Virtually every element of the fabric and utilitarian operations that make urban areas tick can now be found somewhere in the mix that is the ‘smart city’ agenda. Ideas have expanded and projects pursued in different directions as the rhetoric on making cities ‘smarter’ has grown. App
    Read More
  • TfL consults on proposals to withdraw cash fare payments
    August 20, 2013
    Transport for London (TfL) has launched a public consultation to seek customers’ views on proposals to withdraw cash fare payments on London buses. Since the introduction of the Oyster card in 2003, and the launch of contactless payment cards on London’s buses last year, fewer than one per cent of bus fares are now paid in cash, down from 25 per cent in 2000. TfL is now putting proposals to passengers that would see cash fare payments on London buses ending in 2014. Research shows that the majori
    Read More
  • £680 million investment for West Midlands Trains
    October 19, 2017
    A £680 million ($897million) order for new trains has been welcomed by West Midlands Rail (WMR), a consortium of 16 local councils set up to manage the regions rail services. The order, made up of 413 carriages, comes from West Midlands Trains (WMT) who will run local services on behalf of WMR and Department of Transport (D0T) from December onwards to help increase capacity and improve journey times. WMT will operate local services until March 2026.
    Read More

Highlighted Content