ENVIRONMENT
From a distance, the newest buses on London roads look like trams, with an aerodynamic shape and wheels that are mostly hidden. The side doors slide open — like trams and trains — and inside, big windows fill the bus with light, which makes it feel a little wider than a typical bus. The aisles are also wider.
“It’s a very striking vehicle. It draws people onto the vehicle,” says Andy Derz, a business development manager at Irizar e-mobility, the Spain-based company that designed the bus. “It’s much lighter and much brighter, and it gives a sense of space for passengers. London transport buses are very, very busy, so the more of a feeling of space you can get on a vehicle, the happier the passengers are.”
The interior also has other perks to improve the experience for riders, including more comfortable seats, a smoother ride, displays that show upcoming stops, mood lighting that changes with the seasons, and USB ports for charging phones. At stops, the bus is low enough to the ground that passengers don’t have to step up to get on.
The rounded, sloping front end of the vehicle helps make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists, since a blunt front is more likely to seriously injure or kill someone in a crash. If someone is hit, the new shape means they’re more likely to be pushed to the side rather than pinned under the front. The bus has other safety features, including audible warnings outside the vehicle, automatic limits on the speed, and cameras instead of mirrors to give drivers full visibility.
The buses are electric and can charge quickly. At each end of the 25km route — one of the longest routes in London — the driver stops under an overhead charger and pushes a button. The bus automatically connects to the charger, and tops off the battery in about six minutes; it’s not a full charge, but can recharge about 20% of the battery. The buses can also charge at night, but having the ability to charge en route, called “opportunity charging”, makes it possible for each vehicle to stay on the road longer.
“Opportunity charging means drivers don’t need to return to garages during the day to recharge,” says Lorna Murphy, director of buses at Transport for London. “This means fewer buses are required on the route, bringing savings that can be invested in other areas of the network, in addition to the benefits of cleaner, greener travel.” More frequent charging means the batteries can be smaller, reducing the weight of the vehicles, and potentially reducing cost.
London is in the midst of transitioning its entire bus fleet to electric, and it already has more than 1,700 electric buses on the road. The city is also adding new bus lanes for faster service; a new network of 10 express bus lanes, called the Superloop, opened in 2023.
TOP The new electric buses
ABOVE Interior and quick charging at the end of the route
PHOTOS Transport for London
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