All new Transport for London buses to be zero emissions

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has revealed that all new buses in London will now be zero-emission.

The purchase of all hybrid and diesel buses will be stopped immediately and, from now on, only battery-electric and hydrogen buses will be introduced to the fleet.

This announcement will see TfL’s goal of operating a zero-emissions bus fleet achieved by 2034, three years earlier than planned. Transport for London already has 950 zero-emission buses on the road or on order, according to the Mayor’s office.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “In the year of COP26 and after setting out my ambition for London to be net zero by 2030, I’m committed to do all I can to help clean up the transport network and reduce its emissions.

“London’s toxic air is a shameful health crisis which is causing premature deaths and stunting the growth of children’s lungs. Today, as part of our work to tackle both the harmful emissions we breathe and the climate emergency, I am proud to announce that London will no longer procure new diesel or hybrid buses and will only procure zero-emission buses.

“Today’s (17th September) announcement builds on the progress we’ve already made tackling toxic air pollution. I’ve worked hard to ensure TfL’s entire bus fleet across now meets the ULEZ standards, this includes 550 zero-emission buses. We need to act now and accelerate the transition to a greener future, with cleaner air for all.”

The announcement follows the Mayor’s Zero-emission Bus Summit, organised by the Campaign for Better Transport and TfL, which saw representatives from central and local government, bus operators, manufacturers and wider stakeholders come together at City Hall to drive forward the uptake of zero-emission buses across the UK.

With London making up a third to half of all new bus orders in the UK in any given year, increasing the number of these buses in the capital is also supporting 3,000 jobs across the UK, such as at the Alexander Dennis (ADL) factories in Scarborough and Falkirk, Switch Mobility near Leeds and Wrightbus in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

Louise Cheeseman, TfL’s director of buses, said: “The world has woken up to the desperate need to make big changes to tackle the climate emergency, and the single biggest thing we can do is to move to a zero-emission bus network as soon as possible.

“We’ve done everything possible to make the bus network clean and now we are focussed on making it green, which is why it’s so important that we’re able to commit that all new buses in London will be zero-emission. We’re now working to have a completely zero-emission bus network as soon as possible, and with Government support we could do this by 2030 while also stimulating the bus market.

“Every town, city and region has a part to play in reducing the country’s carbon emissions and addressing climate change.”