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Here’s why Boris buses are disappearing

Published

6 months ago

May 13, 2024

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Londoners could soon see an end to the “Boris Bus” as Sadiq Khan pledged to make London’s bus fleet “zero emission” by 2030 after being re-elected as mayor.

The red double-deckers, originally referred to as the New Bus for London and colloquially as the Boris Bus, were introduced in 2012 by then mayor Boris Johnson.

It was launched as a new version of the iconic Routemaster, costing the city £350m.

But Khan, re-elected last week for a historic third term, would like to take these buses off the road – here’s why.

Why are Boris buses disappearing?

Sadiq Khan is aiming to have London’s 8,600 buses powered by batteries or hydrogen.

“By 2030, all the buses in London will be zero emission,” Khan said. “Some may need to be retro-fitted but I think all will be new buses by 2030. It means any bus that is not zero emission will be off our streets by 2030.”

As part of his commitment to make London the best city in the world to grow up in, he has made a commitment to be “at the forefront of climate action”. He said: “We’ve already made significant progress cleaning up our air, with the introduction of the world’s largest clean-air zone.”

The pledge to shift buses over to zero-emission by 2030 has shifted from last year’s plan to make the switch by 2034.

When introduced, Johnson described the bus as: “The cleanest, greenest bus on the streets of London by miles.”

But the buses came under criticism for the ineffectiveness of its air conditioning on hot days in London, though Johnson responded that the system was working as intended.

The original Routemaster double-decker, with its open platform and conductor, was introduced by London Transport in 1954 and has become a British icon. The aim was to produce a bus that was light, fuel-efficient, and easy to operate.