Is it Worth it?

The premium for a hybrid over a conventionally engineered double deck is said to be £110,000. This puts the price of a hybrid decker in the region of £295,000 and more. Research published by TfL suggests that the saving on fuel amounts to £5,000 per annum. To pay for itself, this will take 22 years, some seven years beyond the expected life of a *standard* bus in front line duty. Routemasters aside, London’s diesel buses thus far don’t seem to last even that long, before being cascaded. And who knows the life expectancy of the hybrid equipment and what refurbishment or renewals will be required. Or whether there’s a second hand market, outside London.

Is it worth it? Only if:

• The government’s green bus fund covers the difference between conventional and hybrid technology. The doubling of London’s hybrid fleet by 56 buses to be delivered this year is part funded by the government.


• It allows both the manufacturing and operating industries to understand and improve upon the technology.


• This helps build volume that will eventually reduce the otherwise high unit costs.


• Leasing companies begin to understand hybrid vehicles’ residual values. They are currently ultra-conservative about RVs, as they don’t yet see whether there’s any after market in or beyond London.

When hybrids were originally mooted, there were claims that fuel economy might improve by as much as 30 per cent. TfL trials indicate that this is optimistic. Its double decks achieve 1.1mpg above the diesel benchmark of 5mpg. This equates to 22 per cent, a third lower than anticipated. And for single decks, TfL states the very best performance is 1.9mpg above the 8mpg benchmark—or 24 per cent. There are commensurate reductions in carbon, again lower than anticipated.

Meanwhile, Arriva has cut its fleet carbon emissions by 1¾ ounces per mile, not on its bus fleet but the cars it runs for bus & rail managers. 400 cars travelling, say, 15,000 each saves 1,050,000 oz or about 30 tons of CO2. E&OE.