London’s electric buses and taxis triumph at Low Car Vehicle Partnership Champion Awards

The LowCVP 2017 Grand Prix was presented to TfL, Go-Ahead and BYD UK

The LowCVP 2017 Grand Prix was presented to TfL, Go-Ahead and BYD UK

A project that will see the introduction of fully electric buses in London won the top award at the 2017 Low Carbon Champions Awards, organised by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP).

Transport for London, bus manufacturer BYD and bus operator Go-Ahead London jointly won the Grand Prix award for a partnership that is delivering vehicles, operational capacity and infrastructure to begin running London’s first two all-electric bus routes (507 and 521).

Waterloo bus garage has been remodelled to accommodate over 50 electric buses and new charging infrastructure in a space-constrained environment. Working with infrastructure supplier, SSE, the partnership has overcome technical challenges to transform the garage into a large-scale, fully-electric operation.

The Champions Awards judging panel was comprised of 25 senior executives from across a range of UK organisations with a stake in the low carbon road transport agenda.

Commenting on the Grand Prix award, the judges said: “To accommodate over 50 electric buses and charging infrastructure in a space-constrained environment, the group worked tirelessly to remodel the Waterloo bus garage. The manufacturer, BYD, and the operator, Go-Ahead London, worked with Transport for London and in close cooperation with infrastructure supplier SSE, to bring this challenging project to fruition.”

Roads minister Jesse Norman said: “The UK boasts a dynamic, innovative automotive sector and British companies are leading the way in developing low emission technologies for road transport. Congratulations to the winners of the Low Carbon Champions Awards. These important achievements highlight the progress being made as we strive to meet our ambition for every new car and van to be zero emission by 2040.”

LowCVP managing director Andy Eastlake said: “All the entries that were short-listed for this year’s Awards deserve praise for their contribution to cutting road transport carbon emissions and helping to reduce air pollution. Against the backdrop of a year of political and environmental turmoil it’s perhaps appropriate that our overall winning entry required a strong collaborative approach to radically reduce the impact of a whole bus fleet.”

The London EV Company, which changed its name from the London Taxi Company earlier this year, received the Low Carbon Car/Van Manufacturer of the Year prize. The judges said that LEVC has shown leadership and innovation in bringing to market the UK’s, and the world’s, first purpose-built electric taxi. "In just three years the company has designed and built the vehicle, using a local supply chain and adopting a range of novel design and assembly processes," the judges said. 

David Martell, founder and chief executive of Chargemaster, which operates an EV charging network, was named Outstanding Individual in Promoting Low Carbon Transport. The judges said: “David Martell has shown great commitment to the electric vehicle industry over the past decade. While rapidly expanding his company to be a leading player in the booming EV charging sector, he has developed partnerships with authorities, government and vehicle manufacturers, helping to expand the electric vehicle market in the UK.”

The awards were held at the NEC, Birmingham, and were hosted by science communicator and Formula E presenter Nicki Shields.