Transport for London (TfL) is investigating after one of its new “tram buses” was involved in a crash on the day the fleet was launched.
The vehicle reportedly collided with a car driven by the wife of a Bromley councillor.
The 20-strong fleet covers the 358 route, connecting Crystal Palace to Orpington in one of London’s longest bus routes.
TfL unveiled the new set of buses on November 20, which include pantograph technology that connects to the roof of the bus at each end of the 15-mile long journey, allowing them to charge in as little as six minutes.
Labour Councillor Kathy Bance said at a Bromley Council meeting on the evening of the launch that one of the first new 358 buses hit a car belonging to a Labour councillor’s wife. The collision reportedly took place on Sevenoaks Road in Orpington earlier that day while the new 358 buses were making their first journeys.
A TfL spokesperson said: “We are aware of a road traffic collision involving a route 358 bus and another vehicle. Thankfully, no one was injured and we understand that the collision was minor.”
They added: “We are working with the bus operator, Go-Ahead London, to investigate this incident.”
Conservative Councillor Nicholas Bennett, Executive Councillor for Transport, Highways & Road Safety, sent his best wishes to the councillor’s wife at the meeting.
The executive councillor also claimed the pantograph technology being used on the new 358 buses was already several years out of date.
Cllr Bennett said in his update: “They claim it as ‘new technology’ yet such charging has been in place for years in some European cities and TfL route 132 has had such charging for several years.”
Pantograph technology was initially introduced to London in 2022 for the 132 route at Bexleyheath bus garage.
TfL has said the innovation will allow fewer buses to be required on the 358 route, bringing savings to be used in other areas of the London network. Safety benefits also include speed limiting technology and audible warnings for pedestrians.
Lorna Murphy, director of buses at TfL, previously said: “The green benefits are obviously that we’re reducing our carbon emissions. On a bus like this, we can carry up to 80 times the amount of people that can go in a car in just three times the space.
“Clearly that’s a huge benefit from an emissions point of view, for the climate, for improving the air that we all breathe and that’s great for Londoners.”
