March 1948: London's zero-emissions trolleybus was ahead of its time

London has a well-documented problem with its air, the quality of which is estimated to cause 9,400 premature deaths a year. Consequently, efforts are being made across the capital to introduce an ultra-low emissions zone that will impose charges on road vehicles that fail to meet clean air criteria.

Efforts toward this laudable goal include the introduction this year of 240 electric double-decker buses on to the network, where they will join more than 2,600 diesel-electric hybrid buses helping to deliver over two billion passenger journeys a year. A further 4,100 Euro VI compliant buses are helping to improve air quality in a city that is phasing out diesel-engine buses.

Electric-drive is currently playing its part in solving a problem brought about by noxious vehicle emissions, but in 1948 London’s transport chiefs were already part-renewing a fleet of zero-emission vehicles that were popular with passengers, very reliable and hadn’t required major changes to infrastructure to roll them out.