Bus routes across London shift their fleet

For a while, buses have been typically run by robust diesel buses, changing out for a familiar hybrid. Now, companies have mass ordered hefty amounts of electric buses to be given out - but why now? And why have they not shown up?

Here I will give multiple examples as to what has been ordered, how much of it, and if it has arrived at its depot.

492 Bluewater - Sidcup Station

The 492 bus route typically runs from Bluewater to Sidcup Station, via Bexley, Bexleyheath and Crayford, rarely cutting short at Dartford Station, Bexley Village or Foots Cray. The depot this line runs from is from the Dartford Depot. The buses ordered by Arriva, the company running this service, are 8 BYD BD11s, a double decker electric bus. The original arrival date was of January 2026, but they haven't shown up yet. But why is this?

Its demand has meant that BYD has had trouble manufacturing given that TFL have been ordering a lot of their buses, such as the BD11 or the BD10. To create such a bus, it takes a lot of tests and wire configuration.

89 Slade Green - Lewisham Station

The 89 is a bus route from Slade Green to Lewisham Station via Shooters Hill, Blackheath, Greenwich and Bexleyheath, intermittently cutting short at Erith, Northend Road or Shooters Hill Road; Sun in the Sands. This fleet had a change to eradicate the very old Alexander Dennis to Volvo buses and the Wright StreetDeck.

This line is trying to create a full hybrid service, aiming to be fully electric in the near future as part of attempts to save our Earth; to help us commute in the most eco-friendly way possible. There have also been more accidents involving fires on diesel buses, while electric buses have a low risk of fire hazards, whilst still having the power to push such a bus up steep hills like East Hill, Dartford or Shooters Hill.