Electric vehicles are stripped from the streets after the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency issues a formal warning.
Almost 1,800 electric buses have been recalled from fleets in cities around the UK because they could catch fire if left running unattended. The vehicles are from fleets based at Transport for London, Transport for Greater Manchester, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cambridge, Coventry, Glasgow and Leeds.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) issued a formal warning about 1,758 Alexander Dennis Enviro200 and Enviro400 single and double-decker buses, saying there was a fire risk in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
The agency did not attribute fault to the batteries, which are supplied by BYD, the giant Chinese electric vehicle maker which overtook Tesla’s sales last year. It said that a temporary fix was to turn off the Hispacold HVAC system when the vehicle was left unattended.
If an electric bus catches fire it is incredibly dangerous as it can burn very intensively and is hard to put out due to it being caused by a chemical reaction which also emits flammable toxic gases. The DVSA issued the recall notice on January 31. Transport for London (TfL) said that it had more than 600 of the buses, about 10% of its entire fleet, but that their withdrawal had not affected its services.
Glynn Barton, chief operating officer, said: “This model of the 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.”
Fifty of the buses are on the Bee Network service operated by Transport for Greater Manchester. They are also used in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cambridge, Coventry, Glasgow and Leeds.
Alexander Dennis told MyLondon: “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.”
The company added: “Further updates will be provided to operators on the 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.”
There was a series of electric bus fires in London in January, prompting Go Ahead, a bus operator, to carry out a “precautionary fleet check” on 380 vehicles. No evidence that the incidents had a common cause was found. In 2022, TfL temporarily recalled 90 electric buses after a fire at a depot in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, while First York, an operator in North Yorkshire, took 21 vehicles from Switch Mobility out of service.
