Happy birthday, electric buses: Go-Ahead celebrates a decade of emission-free buses in London

London’s largest bus operator, Go-Ahead London, has delivered a saving of 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over ten years of operation of emission-free electric buses on behalf of Transport for London.

The reduction in emissions is equivalent to taking 24,000 cars off the road. The impact has delivered cleaner air for Londoners and setting a benchmark for decarbonisation of public transport for cities across the UK.

Go-Ahead London today hosted a celebration at its Camberwell depot to mark the 10th anniversary of the operation of London’s first modern day emission-free bus, which was trialled on December 18th 2013.

As part of the event, pictures were displayed of the ‘clean bus of the future’ drawn by pupils from local schools and guests were served with a zero emission bus themed birthday cake.

Go-Ahead London operates 520 zero emission buses on behalf of TfL and expects to increase this number to 1,000 by the end of 2026 – account for almost half the company’s fleet.

Across the UK as a whole, The Go-Ahead Group operates 670 zero emission buses and is shortly to deploy an additional 106 electric vehicles in Oxford, part funded by the Government’s ZEBRA scheme.

In 2022, a Zero Emission Centre for Excellence was opened in London by Go-Ahead to develop ways of optimising operation of zero emission buses – including maximising energy efficiency, standardising maintenance, bringing down the cost of charging infrastructure and extending the lifespan of batteries.

David Cutts, Managing Director, Go-Ahead London, said: “It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since our first electric bus hit the road. The technology has developed at a rapid pace and electric buses are rapidly become the norm, rather than the exception, on London’s streets.

“We’re proud to work in partnership with Transport for London to deliver cleaner air and quieter journeys for Londoners. The Go-Ahead Group as a whole has been able to take experience from London and apply it to the roll-out of zero emission buses across the UK.”

Tom Cunnington, TfL’s Head of Buses Business Development said: “London’s red buses are iconic and are some of the greenest in the world, with the lower CO2 emissions per passenger kilometres compared to other global cities like New York, Paris and Vancouver. With more than 1,300 zero emission buses on our roads, our programme of decarbonising the fleet is playing a crucial role in the journey to net-zero. Zero emission buses help Londoners breathe cleaner air and reduce the impact of road transport on our environment.

“We’re really proud to be celebrating this milestone with Go-Ahead London who are marking 10 years of their emission-free electric bus services on our roads. We are working closely with capital’s bus operators to convert the whole fleet and remain on track to be a fully zero-emission fleet by 2034, which could be accelerated to 2030 with further Government funding.”