[title]
London’s on an electric bus hot streak. Last week a bunch of eco-friendly buses were ordered for south London, while back in May a brand-new fleet of green double-decker buses were bought for the capital. And now it’s been revealed that nearly a thousand more electric buses are on their way to the capital.
This new load of leccy buses is part of a £500 million investment into green transport by Go-Ahead, London’s biggest bus operator. The deal is expected to see new buses delivered in batches over the next three years, with 167 in year one, and then an ‘anticipated’ 400 more in each of years two and three.
Go-Ahead’s half-billion-pound investment is wholly privately financed (meaning no public money is going into it), and the manufacturer of the buses will be Northern Ireland-based firm Wrightbus. According to the Department for Transport, it’ll support up to 500 manufacturing jobs.
All this is part of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s wider plans to make the capital a net-zero city by 2030. An initial target that aimed to take London’s diesel buses off the road by 2034 has been brought forward by four years. Here’s what the new buses will look like they’ll be replicas of these existing vehicles used in Oxford).
All of which is undoubtedly good news. Not only is London’s bus fleet getting refreshed with swish new vehicles, but those buses are better for both our lungs and the planet. Keep an eye out for sparkly new zero-emission London buses!
Transport news with Time Out
Here at Time Out we cover anything and everything to do with London’s transport network. In recent Time Out news, did you see these behind-the-scenes snaps of the Piccadilly line’s new trains being built in Yorkshire? Here are all the London tube stations that are also listed buildings – and now, the one you’ve all been waiting for: the Bakerloo line might actually be getting new trains.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.