- The Driver Vehicle Standards Agency issued the emergency recall of 1,758 buses
- A fire risk has been identified in the £800m fleet’s aircon and heating system
Safety watchdogs have ordered the recall of almost 2,000 electric buses over fears they can catch fire if left unattended.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has warned operators who use the Alexander Dennis Enviro200 and Enviro400 single and double decker buses of the critical safety issue.
The buses are currently operational across the UK, with more than 600 in London and a further 100 in Manchester.
All of the affected vehicles were manufactured between May 3, 2019 and February 6, 2024. They all contain batteries supplied by Chinese firm BYD.
Initial investigations suggest the fault may be in the air conditioning and heating system. The alert was issued following a scare on board one of the buses – which can cost up to £450,000 each – putting the value of the entire fleet at £800m.
At present, there is no permanent solution to prevent future fires. Instead, operators using the high-tech buses are warned to ‘switch off the Hipsacold HVAC system when the vehicle is left unattended’.
To remind drivers to isolate the power supply were they allowed to pay
Alexander Dennis told MailOnline they are working on the problem with regulators and their suppliers. They stressed the issue is not related to a string of recent fires involving ‘different vehicle types and technologies’.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, pictured on board one of the affected buses, has more than 471 Alexander Dennis Enviro400EVs in his fleet which are subjected to the recall notice
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV is fitted with an electric battery supplied by Chinese manufacturer BYD
According to recall notice issued by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, some 1,758 vehicles manufactured between 2019 and 2024 have this fire risk fault
The DVSA issued an emergency bulletin affecting 1,758 buses on UK roads, including more than 600 in London and a further 100 in Manchester
In September 2021, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced that all new buses in London would be ‘zero emission’.
As of March 31, 2023 – most recent figures available. London had a total of 476 of the buses subject to recall in their fleet.
A further 100 of the same bus type has been supplied to Manchester as part of their move to electric buses.
Although, according to the DVSA there are almost 1,800 of the affected vehicle type on British streets.
Certain routes in the capital are now entirely electric as part of Sadiq Khan’s commitment to reduce harmful emissions in the city.
Cities such as Coventry, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, Glasgow and Aberdeen also use the buses.
Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham, pictured, ordered more than 100 of the affected buses to run on his city’s new Bee Network
The first 50 of the buses entered service in Wigan, Bolton, Salford and Bury in September 2023 following an investment of more than £56m – which included a £21.5 million grant from central government
A further 50 of the fleet are due to be rolled out this month in Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, parts of Manchester, Salford and Tameside. The fleet is due to cover the whole of Greater Manchester in January 2025
London Fire Brigade is currently updating its operations manual on dealing with fires involving electric buses to protect their crews and members of the public – pictured here, a fire involving a suspected electric bus in Putney Bus Garage
Such is the level of threat posed by electric bus fires, London Fire Brigade is currently re-writing its operations manual on dealing with such incidents.
If a fire involves an electrically-powered vehicle, a specialist ‘hazardous materials officer’ will be mobilised to attend.
Currently when dealing with incidents involving buses, a minimum of two fire engines will be sent to the scene, although further units, including specialist teams will be deployed if lithium batteries are present.
A source told MailOnline: ‘Lithium batteries – which power EVs – are an emerging risk in London and we are learning all the time about the risks and challenges they pose and how best we can respond to them in a way that protects both the public and our firefighters.’
Howard Cox, who is running for City Hall in May’s mayoral election in London said: ‘I predicted a few years back that rushing into new idealistic based choices for our vital public transport infrastructure must be tempered.
‘The rosy picture of the promise of zero emissions has clouded ill-informed politicos’ judgements to ignore safety issues and the cost of replacing reliable and proven safer lower cost diesel buses.’
Mr Cox is the founder of FairFuel UK and is the Reform candidate for Mayor of London.
He told MailOnline: ‘And now we see the result of their stupidity, tax payers now have to fund these expensive buses being taken off the road due to a lack of any critical safety analysis and forward planning from our elected representatives and TFL.
‘I call upon a full moratorium on all electric public vehicle transport fleets across the UK, until a guarantee of passenger safety is secured.’
The buses have a range of 160 miles on a single charge and can carry up to 87 passengers.
More than 500 of the affected buses are part of Transport for London’s fleet
Other cities affected by the recall include Coventry, pictured
Local authorities and companies affected by the recall notice have been alerted
Buses in Birmingham, pictured, are also affected by the recall notice
Several buses are operating a park and ride system in Cambridge, which boasts of being 100 per cent electric with zero per cent emissions
In London they are fitted a dedicated wheelchair space that is accessed via and electric ramp on the centre doors.
The vehicles are powered by a pair of 150kW motors from BYD on the rear drive axle.
They contain BYD Lithium-iron-phosphate batteries providing between 339kWh to 382kWh of power and are recharged at a rate of 112kW using a DC CCS2 plug.
Each bus also has forced air circulation with zero-emission heat pump for heating and cooling.
One unrelated bus blaze involved a 2021 Optare MetroDecker EV which caught fire on Wimbledon Hill Road on January 11, 2024.
According to a recall notice issued by the DVSA affected 105 buses, ‘the low voltage harness connector of the control module may experience fatigue if subjected to excessive mating cycles leading to a localised thermal incident’.
A spokesperson for Alexander Dennis told MailOnline: ‘Following an incident earlier this year, Alexander Dennis, BYD and other relevant parties have identified that there is a potential issue relating to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system supplied by Hispacold for some BYD–Alexander Dennis electric buses.
‘The investigation is still ongoing and the root cause has not yet been identified. As the safety of our customers’ team members, bus drivers and passengers is of the utmost importance to us, a safety bulletin has been issued to all affected operators with temporary precautionary measures to ensure the highest levels of safety are met.
‘Further updates will be provided to operators on conclusion of the investigation by Alexander Dennis, BYD and impacted suppliers, in consultation with the DVSA, when we expect to provide a permanent fix to resolve the issue.
‘As far as is currently known, the issue does not directly affect core driveline components such as electric motors or traction batteries. Neither is there currently any suggestion that the issue is linked to other bus fires that recently received media attention as these involved different vehicle types and technologies.’
Operators have been warned to disconnect the air conditioning and heating system before leaving them unattended to mitigate the risk of fire
Unlike electric cars, the buses are charged using two cables to increase the speed they can return to service
Glynn Barton, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, said: ‘Safety is our top priority and we have put a number of measures in place to ensure that London’s bus network remains safe to use, following a notice issued by the manufacturers of this model of bus that has informed the DVSA notice. This model of bus is safe to remain in service and the operators are following the DVSA’s and manufacturer’s advice and guidance, which includes remedial measures that have been implemented, while we work with an independent engineer to assess next steps.’
The DVSA told MailOnline: ‘DVSA’s priority is to ensure everyone can travel in safe vehicles.
‘The manufacturer has identified issues with the heating system unit, rather than the battery or propulsion system, and we are working with them to ensure the defect is dealt with swiftly and in the best way possible way to ensure it meets the relevant statutory safety standards.’
