Repower specialist Magtec says the conversion of an AEC Routemaster to battery-electric demonstrates a strong business case for that approach within sightseeing applications, where character, prior investment and urban duty cycles can make refurbishment more attractive than full replacement.
Last month it worked with Golden Tours to unveil what is believed to be the world’s first battery-electric Routemaster. Golden Tours acquired the bus, which was refurbished eight months before entering limited service last summer, in 2024. Challenges with the original driveline prompted exploration of repower.
The result — a 200kWh battery-electric driveline using Magtec’s P180 motor and energy storage — has been packaged to avoid any structural alteration to the 59-year-old chassis.
Both Golden Tours and Magtec tell routeone that sightseeing is particularly well suited to repowering because vehicles often already carry substantial investment in open-top conversions, interiors, branding, and onboard equipment.
“This is probably the 30th chassis type we have repowered, and each one has its unique aspects,” comments Marcus Jenkins, founder and Director of Magtec. “Sightseeing services are an ideal application for repowering — prior investment and extensive modification makes the economics more attractive.
“Buying a new electric bus would require substantial investment in order to convert it into a sightseeing vehicle. Without the subsidies available, sightseeing also makes the economics of repowering much clearer – it is a better economic proposition to repower a bus privately than to operate one as a service bus.”
Golden Tours CEO Mikesh Palan notes that, for urban sightseeing, repowering delivers lower emissions, improved reliability, and a quieter, smoother visitor experience while retaining the appeal of an iconic London vehicle.
“It is an icon of London, from an international perspective and domestic,” he says. “To be able to deliver an experience on a vehicle such as this, having now provided a new powertrain that is zero-emission, reliable, cost-efficient and much smoother, ticks every possible box a visitor to this city would want.”
The project supports wider electrification at Golden Tours. Its hop-on, hop-off fleet in London and Windsor comprises 34 Volvo B5TLs and B9TLs, including five B5TLs already repowered by Equipmake, with the number expected to rise to 10 this year. It also plans to convert a further two AEC Routemasters in its afternoon tea fleet.
