Mayor of London Introduces Hybrid Double-Deck Bus
31 October 2006
The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, today unveiled the first hybrid double-deck bus in the world and announced plans for a hybrid bus fleet for London. (Earlier post.)
Built by Wrightbus, the double-decker is a series hybrid with a 660-volt lithium-ion battery pack powering two 85kW electric motors. A 1.9-liter Euro-4 diesel engine is the genset. By contrast, a conventional double-deck bus uses a 7-liter engine.
The hybrid bus is expected to cut emissions by up to 40%.
Hybrid vehicles can make a real contribution to a cleaner, greener public transport network for the capital. Bus manufacturers and operators now need to rise to this challenge to make this economically and financially feasible.
Creating a low-carbon bus fleet is an important part of our work to cut the emissions which are causing climate change. It is an important step towards my vision that London becomes one of the world's most sustainable cities.
—Mayor of London Ken Livingstone
The adoption of hybrid buses is a key part of a range of measures being developed by the Mayor and Transport for London to meet London’s contribution to tackling climate change. The measures include:
Continuing modal shift from private car usage to public transport, cycling and walking;
Greater energy efficiency across all Transport for London businesses and modes of transport;
The adoption of more energy from renewable sources and innovative technology to recycle energy;
Support for the continued research and development of low carbon fuels;
Strategies and support for organisations and individuals to travel in more environmentally friendly ways through Travel Demand Management schemes, including in the London Borough of Sutton the largest of its kind in the UK; and
A new £25m climate change fund, to mitigate transport related emissions.
Transport for London currently has six single-deck hybrid buses operating on route 360 in London, from Elephant & Castle to Kensington and is actively pursuing the development and increased deployment of hybrid buses on London’s bus network. The single-deck Wrightbus Electrocity hybrids use an Enova 120kW series-hybrid drive coupled to Enova’s 60kW genset driven by a 1.9-liter Euro-4 common-rail diesel engine (Earlier post.)
The London Bus fleet includes 8,000 buses on 700 routes, carrying more than 6 million passengers per day. All buses in the London fleet meet at least Euro II emissions standards and have particulate traps, 60% meet Euro III standards and are also fitted with particulate traps, and buses meeting Euro IV standards are now being introduced.