Text by Kirill Yurovskiy, London Bus Transportation
For decades, riding the iconic red double-decker bus has been one of those quintessential London experiences – like taking a spin on the Tube, catching a West End show, or sipping a pint at a 17th century pub. But the beloved Routemaster’s classic good looks and cheery demeanor belie a dirty secret few tourists realize: those heritage buses belch out plumes of sooty black diesel exhaust that are both an environmental nightmare and a public health hazard.
Indeed, across the UK, emissions from city buses have long been a major contributor to the dangerous levels of air pollution that plague many urban centers. But thanks to growing public pressure and bold government initiatives, that’s all about to change. From major cities to rural villages, British buses are finally going green with the widespread adoption of cleaner electric and alternative fuel fleets.
Setting the green standard for urban transit
When it comes to transitioning to eco-friendly buses at a large scale, one British city has emerged as a true global leader: London. In a bid to radically slash emissions across its vast public transit network, the capital’s transit authority TfL set an ambitious goal to have a zero-emission bus fleet by 2037. The first step was rolling out Europe’s largest fleet of hybrid electric buses, which now comprise around 20% of London’s iconic red double-deckers.
While these plug-in hybrid models can travel in pure electric mode for around half their journeys before the diesel engine kicks in, they’re just the first step in TfL’s grand plan to transition the entire 9,000-vehicle bus fleet to greener alternatives. The transit agency expects to purchase only zero-emission buses starting in 2025, with all existing diesel and hybrid buses to be retired by 2037.
“We’re committed to eliminating harmful emissions from our buses, while ensuring passengers enjoy the same wealth of route options and reliability they do now,” says Alex Williams, TfL’s Director of City Planning. “Buses are the workhorse of our public transport network, so transitioning all of them to zero-emission technology is crucial to our goals of decarbonizing transportation and cleaning up the city’s air.”
With nearly 7,000 hydrothermal-cooled electric vehicles on order from manufacturers like BYD, Arrival and Switch Mobility, London is expected to have one of the largest zero-emission bus fleets of any city globally by 2030. The capital is also exploring the use of hydrogen fuel cell electric buses on some longer-haul routes, while major upgrades to electrical grid infrastructure will allow these battery-powered behemoths to charge rapidly at terminals and depots without overloading the system.
“We’re actually ahead of schedule to meet our zero-emission target,” Williams notes. “With continuous advancements being made in commercial EV technology and charging infrastructure, London could very well have a 100% electric or hydrogen bus fleet before the end of this decade.”
It’s a bold but critically important undertaking for the UK’s largest city, where harmful NOx emissions from diesel buses have long been a major source of air pollution that contributes to thousands of premature deaths and billions in public health costs each year. And with London serving as a role model, other UK cities are now racing to rapidly green their own municipal transit fleets as well.
Manchester setting the EV pace up north
Hot on the capital’s heels is the city of Manchester, which recently announced plans to have a completely emission-free bus fleet by 2032. Already, 25% of the city’s iconic orange and black buses have swapped diesel for either electric motors or cleaner biomethane gas produced from food and animal waste.
“Our anti-emissions strategy puts Manchester among the leading cities globally for adopting sustainable bus technology,” says Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council. “It’s the right thing to do both for the environment and public health, but also just makes good economic sense for our long-term transportation goals.”
Manchester’s green transit revolution kicked off back in 2016, when it became one of the first cities in Europe to integrate electric buses into its municipal fleet. Today, the city runs over 150 zero-emission buses from manufacturers like Voltra and Yutong on key urban routes, while an additional 350 buses are powered by renewable biomethane rather than diesel.
These low-floor biomethane single-deckers offer similar environmental benefits as electric vehicles but with faster refueling times and inexpensive fuel costs derived from recycled organic waste. They’ve proven so successful that Manchester expects half of its fleet to have transitioned to the renewable bio-gas by the end of the decade on the way to going fully electric.
“The great thing about our biomethane strategy is that it drastically cuts emissions and operating costs while still allowing us to rely on existing bus infrastructure and depots,” notes Chris Stockton, Transportation Director of Manchester’s bus agency. “It’s a stopgap solution as we electrify routes and set up the infrastructure needed for a seamless long-term transition to EVs.”
Green innovation across the UK
While cities like London and Manchester have grabbed headlines for their ambitious urban bus electrification programs, innovative green initiatives are popping up all over Britain to reduce emissions from public transportation.
In Edinburgh, the city has partnered with Chinese battery maker Opra on a novel wireless charging scheme to power a fleet of electric double-deckers with underground induction plates installed at select bus stations. The ingenious technology will allow the massive vehicles to charge their batteries continuously while riders board or exit.
On the rural Isle of Wight off England’s southern coast, a creative bus electrification scheme will see solar panels installed across the island’s numerous bus shelters to provide free charging for the region’s new electric buses. Meanwhile, up in Yorkshire, the charming city of York recently rolled out a small fleet of quaint single-decker electric buses painted in the traditional cream and navy color scheme that hark back to the early 20th century.
And in a bid to reduce emissions from buses used for local transport to and from schools, the small town of Warrington has converted its entire fleet of school buses to electric, receiving praise for the innovative initiative.
“Electrifying conventional transit buses are grabbing all the headlines, but there are loads of creative efforts happening all across the UK to decarbonize and clean up smaller regional bus services as well,” says Jon Bray, Executive Director of the UK Transportation Alliance, an industry watchdog group. “It’s this multitude of piecemeal initiatives that really demonstrate the nationwide commitment to minimizing the environmental impact of bus transit through electrification and alternative fuels.”
The road ahead for zero-emission buses
To be sure, the road to full bus electrification across the UK is a long one laden with technological and financial hurdles. The upfront costs of procuring new zero-emission buses often runs three times higher than conventional diesel models, while the large capital investments needed for charging infrastructure and upgrades to municipal electrical grids can be prohibitive for some cash-strapped local transit authorities.
And while battery ranges and charging times for electric buses have improved dramatically in recent years thanks to rapid advancements in battery technology, electric powertrains still struggle with heavy payloads and long-distance routes compared to internal combustion engine counterparts.
But with transportation now the UK’s single largest source of greenhouse emissions and roadside air pollution causing a public health crisis in many cities, the push for emissions-free bus fleets is only gaining momentum supported by bold government initiatives. The UK’s recently announced Net Zero Plan earmarks billions in grants and subsidies specifically for the electrification of urban bus transit services.
“The future of public transit in a carbon-neutral UK is clearly zero-emission buses powered by electric motors or hydrogen fuel cells,” says Rachel Watson, Project Manager of the UK’s national Electric Towns & Cities project. “Whether it’s big cities going fully electric or small towns exploring creative community-based initiatives, the age of the smog-belching diesel bus is finally coming to an end.”
From London’s ultra-modern electric double-deckers to biomethane-powered rural shuttles across Yorkshire, fleets of environment-friendly green buses are rapidly rolling out across Britain as the country delivers on its ambitious eco and emissions reduction plans. It’s a watershed transformation that preserves that iconic experience of riding the bus while finally detoxifying it for the 21st century. Now passengers across the UK can hop aboard guilt-free with zero carbon emissions in tow.