TfL celebrates milestone 1,000 zero emission buses in service

Transport for London (TfL) is celebrating reaching a milestone of 1,000 zero emission buses in its fleet.

Since 2021, all new vehicles joining the fleet have been zero emission as part of TfL’s mission to have a fully electric fleet by 2030.

City Hall says with continued government investment, this target could be achieved by 2030.

Since 2016, the number of fully zero emission bus routes has increased from 5 to 54, with a further 15 routes using a mixture of zero emission and low emission buses.

The number of zero emissions buses on London’s roads has seen an increase of over 3,000% since 2016, moving from 30 to 1,000 buses

TfL says the decarbonisation of London’s bus fleet will save an estimated 4.8m tonnes of carbon by 2034 or an estimated 5.5m tonnes of carbon by 2030 with government funding.

This milestone comes as the mayor announced he was expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) scrappage scheme to all Londoners with non-compliant cars and motorcycles.

Prior to the extension, eligibility to apply for the scheme was limited to certain groups, including people on low income or disability benefits, businesses and charities.

The ULEZ expansion is part of the mayor’s mission to clean up toxic air in London, which City Hall says is leading to children growing up with stunted lungs and people across London developing lung cancer, heart disease, and many other illnesses.

City Hall says decarbonising London’s bus fleet and the upcoming London-wide ULEZ expansion, will help remove harmful emissions from London’s air.

Mayor Khan said: “London has a world-class public transport network and our zero emission bus fleet is setting the standard for others to follow. I’m committed to cleaning up London’s air achieving net-zero carbon by 2030, and that includes delivering a zero-emission bus fleet.

“The decarbonisation of our bus fleet, the increases and improvements in bus services in outer London, and the new proposed Superloop will help build a better, greener London for all.”

The routes currently running with zero emission buses are: 7, 23, 43, 46, 49, 69, 70, 93, 94, 100, 106, 111, 125, 132, 134, 142, 153, 154, 160, 164, 173, 174, 200, 212, 214, 230, 245, 264, 290, 295, 307, 317, 319, 322, 323, 353, 357, 360, 366, 371, 398, 413, 433, 444, 484, 699, B13, C1, C3, C10, H9/H10, P5, U5, W15.

The partially converted routes include: 17, 63, 65, 80, 119, 163, 180, 183, 184, 204, 213, 281, 312, 359, X140.

Oliver Lord, Head of UK for Clean Cities Campaign, said: "Zero emission buses are a triple win for our lungs, our climate and the UK economy. I’m delighted London has hit this milestone but we’ve still a long way to go to rid our lungs of diesel fumes.

“There is now a clear opportunity for this government to turbo-charge the ambition of our city leaders. UK-wide investment in zero emission buses would clean up our air, increase jobs and catapult the country as a global leader in our next industrial revolution - transport decarbonisation.”