Buses Leave for London
Posted by Ballymena Chamber on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 · Leave a Comment
The production line manufacturing Boris Johnson’s new buses for London, hailed as the ‘greenest of its type anywhere in the world’… has delivered its first vehicles to the capital.
The first two buses have left the Wrightbus factory in Ballymena, and will be followed by another four next week with a further 594 over the next three years.
When they arrive into London, the initial buses will first be used for driver training and familiarisation, before moving onto ‘Route 24’, operated by Metroline between Pimlico and Hampstead Heath, starting on Saturday 22nd June.
Emission testing on an early vehicle that has been in service for eight months and covered more than 15,000 miles show levels at 2.048g/km of NOx – around four times less than the fleet average for existing hybrid buses.
CO2 has been measured at 690.23g/km, which is marginally better than the fleet average for hybrids (864g/km) and almost half the fleet average for diesel buses (1,295g/km). As for diesel particulates, the figure is 0.012g/km, one quarter of the fleet average for hybrid and diesel buses together.
“I am delighted that our first gleaming new buses have driven off the production line, through the gates of Wrightbus and are now London-bound,” says Johnson.
“These fabulous machines meld the very best in design, engineering and green engine technology. I believe they will be hugely popular with passengers and they will be joined by hundreds more in the coming years.”