ABM Aviation is helping London City Airport drive its sustainability performance by introducing two types of electric buses to its airside bussing operation.
The buses, which will be introduced on a trial basis for four months, have the capacity to carry up to 118 passengers each and will operate from London City Airport’s terminal building to the aircraft. The trial is the first step in achieving the airport’s goals of reducing energy consumption and ultimately emissions from airside bus services, as well as decreasing particulate (tailpipe) emissions onsite.
ABM Aviation, which has been London City Airport’s airside bussing partner since 2014, is putting two types of buses on trial: the e.COBUS 2700 and the Mallaghan Arbus 50W. Each is fully electric and incorporates state-of-the-art features to maximise safety and comfort. The impact of the buses will be studied and compared to the existing fleet and to each other.
Jim Niblock, UK Operations Director, ABM Aviation: “London City Airport is located in London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone, and therefore, it is important that we take steps to support our client’s emissions targets. Our hope is that the trial will help us to understand how compatible electric buses are with the needs of our operation airside. We’ll be monitoring against criteria such as battery performance versus charge times and general suitability to the job of providing an excellent experience to people being moved around the airport.”
Donie Braddick, Head of Fuel and Motor Transport, London City Airport: “London City Airport’s goal is to be the most sustainable airport of its size in Europe. We have ambitious plans to deploy new technologies to cut emissions and reduce the environmental impact of our operations, which is why we are pleased to be partnering with ABM to trial electric buses in the airport’s airside bus services for passengers. We look forward to seeing the results of this exciting trial in the months ahead.”
