Transport for London’s new electric buses will let passengers charge their phones

The USB ports will be on the back of 12 seats at the rear of the new buses

Transport for London is introducing a fleet of new electric buses to two of its routes across central London and passengers will be able to charge their phones on board.

The new buses will features USB ports people can plug their phones into on the backs of 12 seats at the rear of each bus on the 507 and 521 bus routes. The new buses will be introduced by the end of the year.

The new fleet of electric buses are part of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s plan to clean up the capital’s “toxic air” and to end having conventional diesel buses on the city’s roads.

Earlier this year the mayor announced plans for a formal policy consultation to tackle air pollution in the capital, while new research released last month showed that hundreds of London’s green spaces including Hyde Park had potentially hazardous air pollution levels.

There are already 22 electric buses running in Croydon and the addition of the new 51-strong fleet will take the total number of electric buses up to 73, believed to be the largest in Europe.

The move is said to be the first step towards making sure all 300 single-deck buses in London release zero emissions, which is hoped will reduce CO2 emissions by 40 per cent. This is part of the Mayor of London’s plan to make all single-deck buses zero emissions by 2020 and all 3,100 double deckers hybrid by 2019.

Around 20 per cent of London’s buses are already hybrid electric buses, with eight zero emission hydrogen buses in operation.

Mr Khan said: “It’s vital that we act now to clean-up our capital’s toxic air and do everything we can to help prevent the thousands of deaths it causes each year.

“I’ve set out a comprehensive plan to improve our air, and the transformation of London’s bus fleet will play a key role in making our transport cleaner and heathier.

Last week Mr Khan launched the new “hopper” bus fare in London, in which passengers are now able to make a second bus journey for free within an hour of their first bus ride.