A fleet of 27 hybrid electric versions of London’s famous red buses has just completed 1mn miles of “clean, reliable revenue service”, thanks to BAE Systems’ technology that is also being used by some buses in Japan, according to a 26 October London Press Service report.
Bus operators throughout the world are now adopting the HybriDrive system, and more than 3,500 hybrids are in service. BAE says more than 4mn passengers a day enjoy the smoother and quieter ride the motors offer. The London United fleet of hybrids uses a combination diesel-electric motor, which has saved the firm well over 44,000 gallons of diesel since late 2008, and prevented the release of more than 450 tonnes of CO2.
A BAE spokesperson said: “With rising fuel costs and threats of global warming, we are taking steps to decrease and eventually eliminate emissions in the transit bus industry. We are on a path to significant fuel and energy savings through zero-emissions technology with our series hybrid product”.
