Transport for London (TfL) and partners have unveiled the first of a fleet of high-specification battery-electric BYD ADL Enviro400EVs for route 63 as part of the Future Bus project. They form part of work that TfL hopes will attract more people back to public transport as London’s network continues to recover from the pandemic.
The vehicles, which are operated by Abellio London Bus, “are a sign of what the future of buses could be if the government agrees a long-term funding deal with TfL,” the body says. TfL’s current short-term funding agreement expires on 18 February.
It adds that with no long-term settlement, it will not be able to introduce “any further new or retrofitted buses” to other routes, suggesting that converting existing diesel buses to zero-emission is on its radar.
ADL’s contribution to the new Envir400EVs has come from its plant in Scarborough. Among their features are Lazzerini high-backed seats that each include a USB charging point, a mobile phone holder and (on the upper deck) a bell push; ceiling skylights; larger rear windows; wood-effect flooring; a larger wheelchair user and buggy area; and improved CCTV. They also include digital onboard displays.
TfL says it will use feedback from the buses being introduced to route 63 “to inform plans for the wider bus network.” However, Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance adds that there will be no further such vehicles if no long-term funding settlement is delivered by the government, and that instead TfL’s network will go into “managed decline.”
The first of the buses entered service in December 2021 and TfL expects that the whole of route 63 will be transformed in the coming weeks.
In addition to using the Future Bus vehicles on route 63 to help recover pre-COVID-19 patronage, the agenda for TfL’s Programmes and Investment Committee meeting on 21 July 2021 show that the project is also aimed at “helping [to] arrest the long-term decline in bus patronage that was occurring prior to the pandemic.”
