Two million miles for Abellio London’s zero-emission buses

Abellio London’s Walworth depot has clocked up over two million electric bus miles – cutting emissions of carbon and nitrogen oxides, and improving the safety of passengers.

Thirty-four Caetano e.City Gold electric buses were introduced during 2020 on two London routes. The Abellio London-operated buses have been running on routes P5 (Nine Elms-Elephant and Castle) and C10 (Canada Water-Victoria), out of Abellio’s Walworth depot in South-East London.

The two million miles clocked-up equate to:

• 10m customer journeys
• A saving of 3,647 tonnes of carbon emissions from bus exhausts
• A saving of 1,609kg of nitrogen oxides, a particularly toxic pollutant.

Cutting levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides will help tackle the twin dangers of climate change and poor air quality.

Toxic air contributes to thousands of deaths each year and is linked to heart disease, dementia and the stunted development of children’s lungs.

The Caetano e.City Gold buses are the first of their type built specifically for the UK market and incorporate advanced safety features and better accessibility.

They include fully flat flooring throughout, rear-view cameras, Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) and Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS), which generates artificial vehicle sounds for vulnerable road users.

Abellio London Bus Managing Director Jon Eardley, said: “Walworth is the first of our depots to operate electric buses with five out of our six depots being upgraded to run zero-emissions buses by autumn 2022. This will take Abellio London’s operation of electric buses to over 15% of the fleet size.

“These cutting-edge electric vehicles further strengthen our position of operating one of the cleanest bus fleets in the UK. We meet the minimum emission standard of Euro VI for internal combustion engine vehicles, and more than half of our fleet of 900 buses are diesel-electric hybrid vehicles.

“We are committed to introducing further, best-in-class electric buses and look forward to making a significant contribution towards the Mayor of London’s vision of having a complete zero-emissions bus system in the capital by 2030.”

Abellio London Bus driver, Kingsford Koi-Otto, has driven the Caetano electric buses from day one, clocking up over 24,000 electric miles – the equivalent of driving to New Zealand and back.

Kingsford said: “With the advanced safety features and a modern specification, these buses are even more comfortable and safe to drive. They are a step-up in terms of overall experience, and help us to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable journey for customers.”

Nuno Carvalho, Caetano UK Board Director and CCO at CaetanoBus, said: “We are delighted with this achievement on the e.City Gold electric bus, proving its operation within the London bus market. We look forward to working closely with Abellio London for the next two million miles on these vehicles and on future orders.”

Louise Cheeseman, TfL’s Director of Buses, said: “On just two routes, these numbers show the huge number of people taking advantage of convenient, affordable bus travel, and just how many tonnes of harmful emissions that buses can save – making a significant contribution towards reducing the effects of climate change and helping people breathe cleaner air.

“This demonstrates how transformative the impact will be when scaled and the entire London bus fleet is zero emission. We already have more than 800 zero-emission buses in operation across the city, but sustained Government funding is essential if we are to convert the entire network at the pace required to help tackle the climate emergency and address the capital’s toxic air crisis.”

Image: courtesy Abellio London