More than a third of London buses are now green

Londoners will be able to spot the 3,000th zero-emission bus, which has been specially wrapped to commemorate the milestone, on route 165 travelling between Romford and Rainham. The 3,000th zero-emission bus will operate from Stagecoach’s Rainham bus depot. It is part of a wider order of more than 120 zero-emission buses from Ballymena-based Wrightbus, supporting the UK’s zero-emission bus industry, green jobs and wider economic growth.

With Rainham depot routes 174/674, 165 and 287 already zero-emission, this order will enable a further six routes at the depot to become zero-emission within the next year – including the new SL12, which will serve customers between Rainham and Gants Hill. The depot is currently being upgraded to support the switch to zero-emission buses, with work including installation of new high-level chargers mounted on overhead steel gantries to power the buses. The steel for these has been ordered from a local company, Rainham Steel, based only a few miles away from the bus depot itself.

“I’m proud that London is leading the charge in sustainable transport with 3,000 of our iconic red buses now going green – which is a hundred times more than when I took office in 2016, and one of the largest zero-emission bus fleets in Europe,” said mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

“Over the last decade as mayor, I’ve worked with TfL to take our bus network from strength to strength – creating new services, such as the game-changing Superloop, and boosting our zero – and low-emission buses to help clean up our air and support our climate goals.

Lorna Murphy, director of buses at TfL, said: “This is more than a milestone; it is real visible change – cleaner journeys for Londoners every day. With a third of London’s fleet of iconic buses now zero-emission, it is even easier for customers to travel around the city in a sustainable, affordable and accessible way. We have the largest zero-emission bus fleet in Western Europe and now more than 3,000 of London’s buses are now zero-emission, up from just 30 in 2016, demonstrating the pace of progress as we strive to transition the whole of the fleet.

“We’re brightening up our customers’ journeys in more ways than one, as we’ve also converted all of the lighting at our bus shelters to LED lighting. Using less energy, these bulbs will make our bus shelters more welcoming for customers and help them to feel safer, especially at night. From new zero-emission buses to LED bulbs, every step we take to decarbonise the public transport network propels us on our journey towards net zero.”