There is perhaps no more iconic image of London sightseeing than the red open top, double decker buses plying their trade. Unfortunately, until now they have been adding to London’s air pollution woes because they have been diesel powered.
Thankfully, that is about to start changing. London tour operator Big Bus Tours has awarded a contract to convert ten of their fleet of open top tour buses to full electric.
Each converted bus will have a range of nearly 200 km from a 327 kWh lithium ion battery, which they consider to be plenty to service their daily tour routes across London.
Also, by repurposing an existing bus chassis and body, they estimate a total saving of 90 tonnes of embedded CO2-e per vehicle in comparison to producing brand new electric double deck buses. This is in addition to the savings in operational CO2-e and the elimination of their share of diesel particulates in inner London’s air.
The conversions are being done by UK business Equipmake, who have a 20 year track record in bus and other EV conversion systems.
Their bus EV conversions feature a patented thermal management system designed to maintain the battery pack, motor, and inverter at their optimum operating temperature, maximising vehicle range.
This thermal management system is also expected to have the added benefit of providing interior heating during cold conditions with captured thermal energy.
At the end of each day, the depleted batteries will be recharged at the depot with DC chargers installed on-site. (A key part of any properly managed EV transition is forward planning their charging needs).
Ian Foley, CEO of Equipmake, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Big Bus Tours as it continues to make its fleet more sustainable. It’s fantastic to work with companies that share a forward-thinking mindset and recognise the immense advantages of repowering.
“By choosing to repower, Big Bus Tours will not only benefit from an excellent opportunity to achieve net-zero targets and play a key role in improving local air quality, but also make significant operating cost savings over the purchase of a new electric bus.”
In terms of costs, Equipmake suggest that each conversion costs less than half of a new electric bus. The first converted bus is expected to enter service in the first quarter of 2024.
As I often point out in my public presentations about the EV Transition – to achieve a nett zero future all transport forms must get away from using fossil fuels, not just cars. By 2050, everything that moves on (or under) the ground, in the air or on the water must run on some form of electric drive.
Thus far it has been the passenger vehicle and (in more recent times) the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segments that have been doing the heavy lifting in that transition.
Buses have begun to make the move, but have not reached the sort of market penetration that EV cars and LCVs have, meaning with their longer lifespans many buses built now are likely to reach 2050 in diesel form if nothing is done.
It is therefore great to see the potential for that 2050 goal being realised without throwing away otherwise perfectly good buses. (Let alone the disruptions and supply bottlenecks that could arise if trying to build many more new buses than the industry is traditionally geared up to do).
Bryce Gaton is an expert on electric vehicles and contributor for The Driven and Renew Economy. He has been working in the EV sector since 2008 and is currently working as EV electrical safety trainer/supervisor for the University of Melbourne. He also provides support for the EV Transition to business, government and the public through his EV Transition consultancy EVchoice.