British bus builder, Optare has announced that the UK subsidiary of Australian company, Transit Systems has order 37 new battery electric Optare double decker buses, to be operated by Tower Transit in the north west suburbs of London.
The new electric double deckers will operate on two new exclusively electric bus routes which Tower Transit was awarded the contract for late last year.
The routes will operate out of Tower Transit‘s Westbourne Park depot in the North West London and are Tower Transit’s first battery electric operations
Optare says ite MetroDecker EV, is the world’s first zero emission double decker and is designed and built at Optare’s facility in Sherburn, near Leeds.
The company says it builds on more than a decade’s experience in EV buses, following ist launch of a double-deck prototype in 2016 which came after extensive trials in London and in a number of cities across the UK.
Optare launched its second generation EV bus in 2018 and the MetroDecker EV entered service in summer 2019
Optare says that Tower Transit’s order is the third major contract for the MetroDecker EV in just over a year, and the second order in London.
By the end of 2020, 100 of the buses will be in service.
Optare’s CEO Graham Belgum, said that he is proud to see the Metrodecker EV consolidate its position in London with a second order on a further two routes.
“This commitment is testament to the capability of the vehicle and the partnership with Tower Transit has been developed through the tender process and we are now working closely together to deliver the customer’s specification,” said Belgum.
Optare says that both routes will launch in the third quarter this year and the 37 Metrodecker EVs are set to save more than 1,800 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions well to wheel in each year versus a Euro 6 bus.
Tower Transit’s parent company, Transit Systems, has been trialling two Gemilang and one Yutong electric bus from ist Leichardt depot in Sydney and has said that electric low emission buses will make up a larger part of ist Australian fleet along with hydrogen fuel cell buses which it has flagged to be potentially on Sydney roads in the next year
