4 cities join Boris Johnson's Global Clean Bus Declaration
Amsterdam, Lima, Barcelona and Rome have signed up to the Global Clean Bus Declaration, an initiative aimed at delivering fleets of ultra low emission buses with the likes of BYD, Volvo and Evo Bus taking part. Boris Johnson also announced BYD have designed London's first purely-electric bus which will be in service later this year. Since the project began in 2008, London has distributed 1,300 hybrid buses and developed a highly fuel efficient New Routemaster bus of which 800 are due to join the roads in 2016. 
The Global Clean Bus Declaration , developed by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson in partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group , launched in Buenos Aires in March 2015 with 20 original signatories. Bus manufacturers including BYD, Volvo, Wright Bus, Optare, Mercedes, Evo Bus, and Alexander Dennis attended the London summit and committed to supporting cities in delivering fleets of new ultra-low emission buses. The World Bank and Green Investment Bank have also signed up to this commitment.



Cities of the Low Emission Vehicles Network collectively forged an international Declaration on Clean Buses, demonstrating a commitment by signatory C40 cities to reducing emissions and improving air quality by incorporating low- and zero-emission buses in their fleets. The Declaration is a call to global manufacturers, public transport operators, leasing companies, multilateral development banks, and other funding agencies to support city ambitions to decarbonize urban mass transport.



The Clean Bus Declaration is an open document and C40 welcomes additional signatory cities.



The graphic reflects figures for the first 20 signatory cities.

Mayor Johnson, the host of the London summit, also announced that the first purely electric double-decker bus, built by BYD, will enter passenger service in London this year. The Mayor confirmed that all new buses joining central London’s fleet are now ULEZ-compliant, delivering important air quality improvements now.

The new electric double-decker trial will see the zero-emission electric double-deck buses manufactured by BYD enter service on route 16 from October, running between Cricklewood and Victoria Station.

London will also shortly be welcoming two Irizar-manufactured electric single-deck buses. These new models join eight single-deck electric buses manufactured by Optare and BYD which have been used successfully in London’s fleet since 2013. The Capital’s first pure electric bus route, the 312—which runs between Norwood and South Croydon—will also be created later this year.

Since 2008, London has rolled out more than 1,300 hybrid electric buses, retrofitted more than 1,400 buses to reduce their emissions by up to 88% and developed the New Routemaster, one of the cleanest double deck buses of its type in the world. (Earlier post.) There will be 800 New Routemasters on London’s streets by 2016 and they will reduce CO 2 emissions in the Capital by around 27,500 tonnes a year.

This is part of the Mayor’s plan to halve NO x emissions from the bus fleet by the end of his term in office in 2016, compared to 2008. Cleaner buses have contributed to important steps forward in air quality for Londoners, including halving the number of Londoners living in areas above nitrogen dioxide limits, and a reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions by 20% and emissions of particulate matter down by 15%.

As part of his Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) proposals, Mayor Johnson has committed that by 2020 all 300 single-deck buses in central London will be zero emission at tailpipe. Furthermore, all 3,300 double deck buses in central London will be Euro VI electric hybrid, with the exception of a small number of Euro V Routemasters which nearly meet the Euro VI standard thanks to their superior design.

In order for there to be enough buses in the fleet to meet these requirements by 2020, TfL has to start procuring these buses now. Accordingly, the Mayor confirmed at the summit that all new buses joining the central London fleet are now ULEZ-compliant delivering vital emissions benefits well before the 2020 introduction date. This means the buses operating in central London will have to be either zero emission at tailpipe (single deck) or hybrid-electric (double-deck), and will be amongst the cleanest buses in the world.

The capital has also pioneered new technologies such as hydrogen and electric buses. As part of these trials, TfL will be piloting inductive charging technology from October this year. This means buses will be able to wirelessly charge their batteries while they wait at bus stands. The technology will be trialled on three extended range diesel electric hybrid buses in east London on route 69—which runs between Canning Town and Walthamstow bus stations.

Reductions in capital costs for new technologies such as electric and hydrogen buses will be key in achieving their wider deployment. The clear commitment embodied in the Declaration by more than 24 cities and 10 non-C40 supporting cities to introducing ultra-low emission buses into their fleets will help demonstrate the demand needed to boost supply and affordability.