Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette

Double-decker hydrogen bus unveiled

- By Amita Joshi amita.joshi@trinitymir­ror.com

SADIQ Khan has unveiled the world’s first double-decker hydrogen bus in London.

The Mayor of London revealed that no more pure diesel double-deck buses will be added to the capital’s fleet from 2018 and that all new single-deckers for central London will be zeroemissi­on vehicles.

The hydrogen doubledeck­er is at the forefront of green technology and will be tried out on London’s year.

Mr Khan said: “I want London to become a world leader in hydrogen and electric bus technology. roads next

“I’m implementi­ng hard-hitting measures to clean-up London’s toxic air and it’s great that more cities are getting on board to phase out the procuremen­t of pure diesel buses, which sends a clear signal that only the cleanest technologi­es are wanted in our cities.”

The mayor unveiled the new bus as he and the deputy mayor of transport, Val Shawcross, met with internatio­nal city officials and bus manufactur­ers attending an Internatio­nal ZeroEmissi­on Bus Conference and Summit at City Hall.

Around 9,400 premature deaths occur each year in London due to illnesses caused by long-term exposure to air pollution and diesel vehicles, it is claimed.

Eleven other major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Cape Town, have already responded to the call and agreed to begin moves to phase out procuremen­t of pure diesel buses by the end of 2020.

City Hall’s vision for London buses is to meet the ultra-low emission zone standard during 2020.

Mike Brown, London’s Transport Commission­er, said: “We’re determined to make our public transport system one of the cleanest in the world and phasing out diesel buses lies at the heart of this.”

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