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The latest data in 2016 showed that there are currently 22 battery electric buses operating in London including 17 single-decker battery electric buses and five double-decker bat- tery electric buses. This is a world first for double-decker battery electric buses, as shown in Figure 8, and entered service in May 2016. These are 10.2 m buses with a capacity of 81 passengers and a claimed range of 303 km. The battery is a Lithium-Iron-Phosphate battery with a capacity of 320 kWh [49]. They utilise a combination of both overnight and opportunity e-bus technology and will operate on route 69 in Central London. They will use a high powered wireless inductive charging system to top up their battery system at the beginning and end of this route to keep the bus operating throughout the entire day [50]. The recent double-decker electric buses have used wireless charging technology as part of innovative charging technology development. However, this is still far from a mature technology and requires a massive recharging infrastructure network [51]. The electric buses in London have shown promising performance on short commuter routes; however, pure e-buses are still best suited for shorter routes with operational flexibility and scope to recharge them in inter-peak periods due to the limit of present battery capac- ity and recharging technology [52]. In 2015, BYD and Alexander Dennis (ADL) announced a partnership to provide 51 further single-decker buses to route operator Go-Ahead with an expected delivery in late 2016 [53]. BYD will provide the batteries and electric chassis technology, and ADL will provide the bus body-building technology [54]. The cost of each bus is expected to be £350,000 [55]. In summary, the recent development and deployment of battery electric buses in London have shown that electric buses are technically feasible. It can be seen that electric buses will also have an important role to play in the coming ULEZ implementation in 2020. However, more time is needed to evaluate the actual performance and address the key challenges facing electric buses such as limitations of battery technology that restricts range. Figure 8. The first electric double-decker bus in the world (photo from Business Green, 2016). Hybrid Electric Vehicles44