On your next trip to London, take another look at the red double-decker bus: either see the last of its kind, or the first in the electric era.
Chinese BYD handed over to London's transport authority, which operates the city's bus and underground network, five BD11 buses it built. This is the first time a non-British manufacturer has supplied this iconic symbol and the first time it is powered solely by electricity.
The current generation of Routemaster, known as the double-decker bus, is manufactured by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland, and was the first of its kind to combine diesel engine and mild hybrid propulsion, with an 18 kWh battery. Production of the 1,000 buses ordered by the authority ended in 2017, and a year ago when the tender results for the new generation production were announced, it was revealed that BYD provided the cheapest offer for the first batch of 100 buses: about 400 thousand pounds per unit.
The new Chinese bus is equipped with a massive 523 kWh battery, sufficient for a range of about 600 kilometers, more than the daily driving range of urban buses. Charging, using a fast roof charger, or a pair of parallel charging arms, is at a power of 500 kW, so the battery is fully charged in less than two hours.
The new bus is equipped with two engines, each with a power of 205 horsepower, and a torque of 60 kg*m. It is also equipped with active safety systems, and is able to brake independently in emergency situations.
On both floors there is space for 54 passengers sitting and 27 standing, totaling 81. With a length of 10.9 meters, width of 2.55 meters, height of 4.3 meters, and a wheelbase of 19.5 meters, its weight reaches 19.5 meters.