The Mayor has announced that the route will be “fully converted” by the summer, with 27 of the vehicles serving the route during peak hours.
In September the Transport for London board agreed to purchase 600 of the vehicles, deviating from the standard requirement for bus operating companies to supply their own vehicles.
Board members were advised that the mandated use of the buses and the inability to deploy them outside London meant accounting rules would require them to be considered TfL assets even if operators purchased them directly.
TfL is also underwriting the cost of the second crew member needed to supervise use of the vehicle’s open rear platform. Green members of the London Assembly have calculated the cost to taxpayers could be as high as £37m.
Critics have accused the Mayor of employing an army of health and safety inspectors merely to pursue a vanity project.
Speaking on Friday, the Mayor said he was “thrilled to confirm that route 24 will be the first in London to be converted to run an entire fleet of these world leading new buses, which will be the cleanest and greenest of their kind.”
