The Anonymous Widower

Could London’s New Routemaster Buses Be Fully-Electric In The City Centre?

London’s New Routemaster buses are different from nearly all the other buses built in the UK, in that Wrightbus designed them around a custom-design of chassis and series hybrid drive-train, whereas most other buses are built on a standard chassis from Volvo or another manufacturer.

These pictures show the buses from different angles.

For comparison, two of London’s other buses are shown.

Could The New Routemasters Be Fitted With Slim Pantographs?

If you look at the different profiles of the New Routemaster and the other two buses, it appears to have a thicker profile.

I very much feel that a lightweight tram pantograph could be designed to fit in the roof of a New Routemaster.

• The bus might be a few centimetres taller at most.
• I would be very surprised if there are many places in Central London, where clearance is limited.

This pantograph could be used to strategically charge the batteries.

It Would Not Be A Trolley Bus

I can remember London’s trolley buses.

Note.

• All of these modern trolley buses in Europe have two overhead wires, which are needed to handle electric currents.
• They are also designed for powering the bus as it moves along the road.

But I suspect there is a design somewhere to connect a bus to two overhead rails for charging purposes.

May 3, 2021 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Buses, New Routemaster, Transport for London