Red double-decker goes green

Foster + Partners, who've designed pretty much everything else worth looking at in London - from the squashed metal gherkin of City Hall to the ribbon-thin Millenium Bridge - have also now come up with the winning entry in London transport's competition to design the new RouteMaster bus. They collaborated with vehicle specialists Aston Martin and Capoco Design to come up with this handsome looking "zero emissions" number. The prototype should be ready by 2011.

About that "zero emissions" and "eco-friendly" bit, there's lots of information about wooden floors, re-used leather seats and solar roofs, but I couldn't find any details about what it actually uses for energy to move it from A to B without creating any C - but a small piece of the sustainable transportation puzzle.

Hydrogen? Electric? Pidgeon manure? Does Anyone else know? Let's see what Lord Foster says: "a new bus for London should establish a whole new travel experience that espouses 21st century aspirations, while celebrating the memory and the experience of the original.” Err, ok.

Could you be more specific Sir Norman?

"The bus is designed to navigate the dense and varied streets of London, employing innovative technologies to allow for greater manoeuvrability and energy conservation.

I see. That explains it then.

It certainly looks good, let's just hope what's under the hood lives up to the 'zero emissions' hype.

[found via Inhabitat on Ecofabulous]

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