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Creating a new bus for 21st century London

Posted: 11 May 2010 | Mike Weston, Operations Director of London Buses, Transport for London (TfL) | No comments yet

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, made a manifesto commitment to introduce a new bus catering for the needs and tastes of 21st century London. The new bus will draw some inspiration from the iconic Routemaster, including an open platform at the back. The design will also make use of the latest Green technologies and will satisfy the needs of London and Londoners.

A competition inviting people to submit designs for the bus ran in summer 2008. The competition was open to everyone, from individuals, community groups, school children, through to transport specialists, design studios, industrial and commercial organisations.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, made a manifesto commitment to introduce a new bus catering for the needs and tastes of 21st century London. The new bus will draw some inspiration from the iconic Routemaster, including an open platform at the back. The design will also make use of the latest Green technologies and will satisfy the needs of London and Londoners. A competition inviting people to submit designs for the bus ran in summer 2008. The competition was open to everyone, from individuals, community groups, school children, through to transport specialists, design studios, industrial and commercial organisations.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, made a manifesto commitment to introduce a new bus catering for the needs and tastes of 21st century London. The new bus will draw some inspiration from the iconic Routemaster, including an open platform at the back. The design will also make use of the latest Green technologies and will satisfy the needs of London and Londoners.

A competition inviting people to submit designs for the bus ran in summer 2008. The competition was open to everyone, from individuals, community groups, school children, through to transport specialists, design studios, industrial and commercial organisations.

The competition had a phenomenal response, with 700 entries submitted in total from the UK and around the world. The Mayor announced the winning designs in December 2008. Two designs were selected as overall winners, Capoco and a joint entry submitted by Foster + Partners and Aston Martin.

The objective of the competition was to harvest ideas and concepts for a new bus design. The winning designs were then taken forward to bus manufacturers as part of a separate competitive tendering process for the detailed design, prototyping and eventual manufacture of the new bus. Six manufacturers expressed an interest and this was then shortlisted down to two. The final bid stage was between Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis Limited. In December 2009, Wrightbus were announced as the manufacturer to design and build the new bus for London.

A defining feature of the new bus will be an open platform that will enable the reinstatement of a hop-on, hop-off bus service. The platform will have the facility to be closed off at certain times, for example at night. The bus will also have three doors and two staircases, giving an innovative new design and aiding speedier and smoother boarding. The bus will have the capacity to carry 87 passengers with space for one wheelchair user.

The bus will also make the most of the latest ‘green technology’. By utilising the latest hybrid technology it will be 40% more fuel efficient than conventional diesel buses and 15% more fuel efficient than current London hybrid buses. Air quality emissions will be reduced by 40% for NOx1 emissions and 33% for PM2 emissions when compared with conventional diesel buses.

A full size mock-up is expected to be delivered in summer 2010 with a working prototype available in 2011. The new bus for London is on schedule to be picking up its first passengers from the streets of the Capital in 2012.

It has not yet been decided which specific routes the new bus will ply its trade on, however it is anticipated the buses will operate on busy central London routes.

References

  1. NOx: Oxides of nitrogen
  2. PM: Particulate Matter

About the author

Mike Weston
Mike Weston is Operations Director for London Buses. After graduating from Loughborough University in Transport Planning and Economics, Mike joined London Transport in 1985, initially in network planning and then moving on to other areas such as management of bus contracts and infrastructure. Mike became Head of Operations in 2003 and in August 2004 was promoted to Operations Director which widened his responsibility. He now manages the delivery of bus operations which includes development of the bus fleet. He is also responsible for safety and the environment for Surface Transport, and the business units of Victoria Coach Station, London River Services and Dial-a-Ride.

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