As A Precaution, Electric Buses Are Taken Off The Roads After One Exploded On The School Run

Several electric buses have been removed from operation after last week’s school run in Wimbledon saw one catch fire.

Commuters were swiftly evacuated after a huge blast ripped off the back off an Optare Metrodecker 1050 bus travelling from Mitcham to Raynes Park in South West London at 7.20 am on Friday, January 12.

Consequently, buses operating on the 200 route have been pulled off the road as a “precaution” by Transport for London (TfL) until the cause of the Wimbledon Hill Road fire is investigated.

Fire expert Neil Pedersen stated that the reason was most likely an electrical malfunction and unrelated to lithium batteries. TfL is currently collaborating with the bus operator London General and the manufacturer Switch to look into the matter.

“As a precaution, the fleet of buses that normally operate on route 200 is being temporarily withdrawn from service by GoAhead while the investigation continues, with other vehicles being brought in to cover,” said Tom Cunnington, TfL’s head of bus business development, in an interview with the Guardian.

‘All buses made by the relevant manufacturer will be checked thoroughly as a matter of priority.

‘Other buses in the fleet remain in service and TfL and bus operators will not hesitate to take further action if required to ensure the network remains safe.’

Eight routes in and around London, numbered 23, 28, 134, 295, 317, 626, and N28, are served by almost 80 Metrodecker buses.

TfL, which operates over 1,000 electric buses throughout its network, declared after the incident on Friday that it would not be pulling out any Metrodeckers and that they were safe.

A TfL spokeswoman told MailOnline at the time: ‘London’s bus network remains safe to use and other buses in the fleet remain in service. TfL and bus operators will not hesitate to take action if required to ensure the network remains safe.’

A second London bus caught fire, destroying it entirely, less than twenty-four hours after the Wimbledon incident.

The hybrid vehicle caught fire in North Woolwich, East London, just before 7 a.m., with onlookers shouting ‘what the f***’ as they were urged to ‘move back, get back’. The bus involved in the blaze was an Alexander Dennis Enviro400 hybrid that runs on diesel and electricity, with about 900 in use across 78 routes in London.

Because of the possibility of the batteries exploding or catching fire, TfL has prohibited the public from taking e-bikes and e-scooters onto its trains and buses. However, it has since been discovered that their vehicles are just as prone to create issues.

Naturally, some of it is not zero at all because sources of energy are also needed to charge the batteries.

Each windmill required enormous amounts of carbon energy to ship and erect, even with solar power.

Every time energy is changed from oil, gas or coal to electricity, some energy is wasted. Some more energy is then wasted again going from electricity into batteries, there is so much wrong with this net zero rubbish con. Ten or more years from now they will be complaining that batteries are being dumped everywhere.

Electric vehicles don’t bother me, but the present battery technology is hazardous to the environment in both its production and its recycling process.

Aside from appearing unstable and prone to thermal runaway, they are also extremely difficult to put out since they supply both oxygen and fuel.

The infrastructure and generating capacity in the UK are insufficient to meet demand, and internal combustion engine cars cannot be replaced by electric vehicles due to their immaturity. It is not possible to run before you can walk, and this has not been well considered.