No, that wasn’t really a tram you just saw trundling up Anerley Hill. It was the new, tram-lookalike 358 electric bus, part of a fleet of 20 zero emission vehicles which have come into service today.
Electric-charged: the new 358 bus, which came into service today
It has been 20 years since various Mayors of London promised a tram extension to Crystal Palace – liar of liars Boris Johnson made the promise at least three times – but while such a progressive investment in infrastructure is still awaited, the 358s will do their bit for the capital to get closer to its environmental targets.
The 358 is, in fact, more like an old-school trolley bus, electric-powered using a pantograph arm that attaches to the roof, but without the nexus of wires along the route that used to be a feature of such vehicles.
The pantograph enables the buses to be charged at each end of the 15-mile route between Crystal Palace and Orpington. The 358 is one of London’s longest bus routes, serving Orpington Hospital, Bromley and Bromley South, Langley Park School, Elmers End and Penge. Special adaptations have been made at Orpington bus station for the purpose.
The new buses are part of a collaboration between operators Go-Ahead London, Transport for London and Spanish supplier Irizar.
TfL says the changes will also bring financial benefits, because fewer buses are required on the route, allowing money to be invested elsewhere.
The new buses include speed-limiting technology, audible warnings to alert pedestrians and other road users and improved direct and indirect vision for drivers through the use of camera monitoring instead of mirrors.
TfL said the vehicles had been designed with “a safer front-end design” as part of efforts to help achieve “the Mayor’s Vision Zero goal, eliminating all deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads”.
Lorna Murphy, director of buses at TfL, said: “Installing new rapid-charging pantograph infrastructure on one of London’s longest bus routes is an innovative step forward, helping us to run cleaner, greener services that get Londoners where they need to be.”
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