Why doesn't london use trolley buses instead of the electric battery buses?

[Fazaar1889]

I remember Adam something saying that battery buses are much worse than trolley buses but I'm not too sure of the specifics. After the trams and before the diesel buses, London used to have loads of trolley buses right? So why don't we go back to them?

 

[John Webb]

I remember trolley buses, indeed I can just remember trams! I suspect the erection and cost of maintaining the overhead lines and their lack of flexibility if there needs to be a chance of route tends to rule them out these days. But battery buses have the greater flexibility and lower capital costs, perhaps, as they only need charging points to be installed at a few locations?

 

[MarkyT]

Trolley wires can fit very well with battery-equipped buses using a concept known as en-route charging. If an appreciable length of the route network is wired, then smaller, lighter batteries may be installed on board and they may be charged more gradually which should help preserve their charging capacity for a longer life. This approach has become increasingly popular in Europe for extending historic trolley bus networks and for some new systems. Can be combined with depot and some isolated terminus charging where layovers allow, and can allow gaps in wiring if desired through any particularly sensitive areas, like Midland Metro trams in parts of Birmingham city centre.

 

[InTheEastMids]

Regardless of the technical and economic merits of wires vs big batteries vs smaller batteries and ultra-rapid charging, I think funding is a big issue.

If a bus operator wants (or is required) to get battery electric buses, then that's likely their investment/lease cost (paid from farebox & subsidy)
Charging infrastructure provision is private sector too.

However trams/trolleybus wiring would almost certainly be a public sector project, so expect a painful process of endless business cases and studies, then get the money out of some central government scheme. Whitehall now decides whether individual local authorities can build public toilets (see link below), I don't think they're going to make it easy to get hundreds of millions in funding for trolleybus/trams, especially when project delivery has been patchy.

[Withdrawn] Changing Places toilets programme round 2: prospectus

The prospectus for the second round of the £30 million Changing Places toilets programme.

www.gov.uk