London has temporarily suspended several electric buses after a double-decker bus caught fire in what appeared to be a spontaneous combustion, prompting calls for all electric buses in the capital's fleet to be re-inspected. It's increasing.
An electric bus caught fire on Wimbledon Hill Road in London on Thursday. No injuries were reported and the investigation into the cause of the fire is still ongoing, but the office of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the UK's main advocate for environmental policy, has confirmed that similar electric buses will not be allowed to run from the route. announced the suspension.
The Mayor's office also said it would “urgently conduct a thorough inspection” of all electric buses manufactured by Switch and operating in London. evening standard report.
The moment an electric bus caught fire during rush hour in Wimbledon this morning.
Fortunately, no one was injured. #London #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/wvPbeNTvZR
— BBC London (@BBCLondonNews) January 11, 2024
But some are calling for the city to go further, with City Hall Conservative transport spokesman Keith Prince calling for the immediate withdrawal of all electric buses on the switch until the cause of the fire is determined. .
“We are also calling for an urgent inspection to ensure the safety of the electric buses remaining in the fleet,” Mr Prince said. “Londoners should have confidence that their buses are safe and will not go up in flames. Sadiq Khan must not put the safety of Londoners at risk.”
“What we need is action, not words. Failure to take action will show Londoners that Sadiq Khan does not care about safety.”
Following the electric bus fire in Wimbledon, a hybrid bus caught fire in North Woolwich on Friday morning. Fortunately, no one was on the bus at the time, but it took firefighters more than an hour to bring the fire under control. daily mail report. Transport for London (TfL) this week insisted the two fires were unlikely to be linked.
A London bus caught fire in north Woolwich this morning. @CrimeLdn pic.twitter.com/XwPnKQKCxs
— Kafu (@Cafu1453) January 12, 2024
Tom Cunnington, TfL's head of bus business development, said: “London's bus network remains safe to use and we have no reason to suspect that this hybrid bus fire is linked to the Wimbledon electric bus accident.” Ta.
“No buses were in service at the time of the fire and no one was injured. TfL and bus operators will not hesitate to take action where necessary to ensure the safety of our bus network. ”
transport in london Claim There are currently “more than 1,000 zero-emission buses in operation in our fleet, both single-decker and double-decker vehicles made by a variety of manufacturers in the UK and around the world.”
Far-left Mayor Sadiq Khan has laid out a plan to convert the city's entire bus fleet to “zero-emissions” by 2034. This means that approximately 8,000 buses will need to be phased out over the next 10 years.
