They are to begin serving both the No.23 bus route, running past Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace and route C3, which serves south-eastern London.
The battery-electric version of the typical red double-decker bus is propelled by the ZF electric portal axle, AxTrax AVE.
It’s the same technology used by London operator Metroline in a fleet of 31 Metrodecker EVs that have been operated since last summer (see related story below).
Optare expects that 100 electric double-decker buses will be on the roads of British city centres by the end of the year.
“Central London has one of the world’s strictest regimes for regulating emissions. The multiple contracts awarded by the city, demonstrate that the AxTrax AVE is a technology which allows our customer, Optare, to meet the most demanding standards for clean and attractive local public transportation”, says Andreas Moser, head of ZF’s commercial vehicle technology division.
The electric axle can be combined with numerous drive configurations – ranging from hybrid and fuel cell drive systems to battery-electric solutions.