Chinese takeaways: the new electric buses have been delivered to South Croydon Garage, for use across four routes: 60, 405, 412 and 466
Our transport correspondent, JEREMY CLACKSON, on TfL’s latest zero-carbon infrastructure improvements
A fleet of electric buses is ready to take to the streets of Croydon and beyond.
Major electrical infrastructure works at South Croydon Garage on Brighton Road are close to completion (though they have taken longer than had been hoped), and the bright red, made-in-China BYD double-deckers are parked up and ready to be brought into operation.
Operated by Arriva London South, the buses are expected to be used on routes 60 (Old Coulsdon-Purley-West Croydon-Streatham), 405 (Redhill-Coulsdon South-Purley-Croydon), 412 (Purley-Sanderstead-Croydon) and the 466 (Addington Village-Shirley-Croydon-Purley-Old Coulsdon-Caterham on the Hill)
Double-decker: Superloop route SL5 has been using the electric buses for around six months
Some of the new electric buses have been introduced gradually in the past week on the long 466 route from Addington Village to Caterham-on-the-Hill.
The BYD B11 double-deckers cost about £400,000 each, and are part of a deal with the Chinese manufacturers last year to supply 100 vehicles for London.
Designed specifically for use in the capital, the BD11 features a 532kWh battery, making it the largest electric commercial vehicle currently available in Britain. It is reckoned to have a range of 400 miles.
The buses can each accommodate up to 90 passengers.
It uses BYD’s Blade battery technology, which is reckoned to last for at least 12 years.
PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, as featured on Google News Showcase, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
“The buses can each accommodate up to 90 passengers.
It uses BYD’s Blade battery technology, which is reckoned to last for at least 12 years.”
Can they replace the battery after 12 years, and get another 12 years’ use out of them, or maybe more if the battery durability has improved by 2037 ?
By way of comparison, approx 2,800 Routemaster buses were built between 1954 and 1968 and nearly half of those are still in existence up to 70 years later !
Hold tight indeed! Those buses jolt and move more erratically than other types of bus. So, hold on and, indeed, to avoid a nasty fall, rush to your seat before it pulls away from the stop.