Could New Routemaster Buses Be Converted To Hydrogen Power?
London has a thousand New Routemaster buses.
They are generally liked by passengers and drivers, although some Labour politicians think they should be replaced, because of their association with Boris.
They were introduced in 2011, so with a refurbishment, I suspect that they could be in service for perhaps another ten years.
The big feature in the design is that they are genuine hybrid buses with a small Cummins engine halfway up the back stairs, a battery under the front stairs and electric drive with regenerative braking.
I do wonder though, that because of the electric transmission, that these buses could be converted to hydrogen-powered buses.
It could be a more affordable route to create a thousand new zero-carbon buses for the streets of London or any other city for that matter.
Given that Wrightbus, who built the New Routemasters, is now owned by a member of the Bamford family of JCB fame and the company is reported to be going down the hydrogen bus route, I would suspect that conversion to hydrogen is on somebody’s mind.
No comments yet.
Leave a Reply