The Anonymous Widower

Exploring London Bus Route 132

London Bus Route 132, is run by battery-electric buses and it the first in London to use opportunity charging.

These pictures show the route from North Greenwich to Bexleyheath Shopping Centre.

Note.

  1. These pictures were shot in two sections on the 3rd and the 6th of July 2023.
  2. The break was at Eltham station.
  3. Some sections of the route had a lot of cars.
  4. Some side roads were full of parked cars.
  5. There were large numbers of cars parked in front of houses.

There are my thoughts.

More will appear here over the next couple of days.

The Buses

The buses used on the route are Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV, which are built on a BYD Auto chassis.

They have a range of 160 miles.

The Route

The route has several inclines both ways and I estimate it is just under ten miles.

At North Woolwich, the bus didn’t appear to have a charge, but I can’t be sure.

But it disappear at  Bexleyheath Shopping Centre and I was certain it went for a charge.

So is the operational philosophy to fill, the bus up overnight and then top the battery up every time, that it needs it at Bexleyheath.

A Comparison With A Similar Route In Birmingham That Has Hydrogen-Powered Buses

As the bus ran between North Woolwich and Bexleyheath Shopping Centre, I was comparing it, with the trip, I made across Birmingham, in hydrogen-powered buses, that I wrote about in Riding Birmingham’s New Hydrogen-Powered Buses.

Both were quality buses, but I felt the hydrogen bus had more power.

Opportunity Charging At Bexleyheath

If, buses need to be charged at the Bexleyheath Shopping Centre end of the route, where will they go?

This Google Map shows Bexleyheath Bus Garage in relation to the Shopping Centre.

Note.

  1. Bexleyheath Bus Garage is in the North-East corner of the map.
  2. It looks like it shares a site with Bexley Fire Station and Barnehurst Ambulance station.
  3. So the garage is well located for any future lithium-ion battery fires.
  4. In the middle of the map at the bottom, is Bexleyheath Clock Tower, in the middle of the town centre.
  5. I estimate it’s less than two kilometres between Bexleyheath Bus Garage and the Shopping Centre.

This Google Map shows a close-up of the Western side of the Bexleyheath Bus Garage.

Note.

  1. The two buses parked by the side of the garage.
  2. Behind them a white arm reaches over towards the road.
  3. This is the charger and buses connect using a pantograph on the roof.

It could be an All-In-One Fast Charging Station AIO from Furrer+Frey.

The Electrical Connection At Bexleyheath Bus Garage

Consider.

  • The bus garage shares a site with a fire station and an ambulance station, which surely must need a reliable power source.
  • This is London’s first application of opportunity charging.
  • There are improvements constantly happening to London’s struggling power network.
  • It is a large site and I suspect there is space for a battery to boost power.

I would assume that Transport for London wouldn’t have chosen a bus garage with a dodgy power supply.

Could The Charger Be Solar-Powered?

This Google Map shows the roof of Bexleyheath Bus Garage.

Note.

  1. It appears to be a square with a length of about six buses.
  2. It looks rather dirty.

I suspect that the roof could be replaced with a modern solar roof.

Hydrogen Or Electric

This article on RouteOne is entitled Enviro400FCEV Hydrogen Bus Fleet For Liverpool Debuts.

This paragraph describes the performance.

Alexander Dennis has chosen the heavy-duty variant of VEDS. It is designed to deliver up to 410kW of power, but the vehicle OEM says that in the Enviro400FCEV, output is limited to 350kW. Such an approach will maximise fuel economy while still enabling a high road speed and good hill climbing ability. Expected range is up to 300 miles.

So the range on hydrogen is nearly doubled.

Wrightbus’s outwardly similar electric and hydrogen buses have ranges of 200 and 280 miles, but filling times of 2.5 hours and 8 minutes.

The problem with hydrogen in London, is that the Mayor and Transport for London, don’t appear to have a hydrogen policy.

But I think, that hydrogen will win out in cities and areas, where hydrogen can be supplied.

I also believe that hydrogen has other advantages.

  • There is likely to be significant progress in improving hydrogen-powered heavy vehicles.
  • Hydrogen internal combustion engines are coming and could promise more affordable hydrogen buses.
  • Better and more affordable methods to create green hydrogen are being developed.
  • Some existing diesel buses will be able to be converted to buses powered by hydrogen internal combustion engines.
  • Lithium-ion batteries have a high environmental footprint.

Hydrogen is also likely to be the fuel of choice for heavy trucks.

 

July 6, 2023 Posted by | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments