Burning Bus Blues

Before TransLink goes hog wild buying battery buses, there is a slight problem, the tend to catch fire.

Third electric London bus catches fire after two burst into flames earlier this month

Firefighters tackled the blaze in a bus garage in Putney

An electric bus has caught fire in London, making it the third to burst into flames in the capital this month.

Firefighters tackled the flames engulfing the single-deck bus at a bus garage on Chelverton Road in Putney on Wednesday.

Twenty people were evacuated from the garage before emergency services arrived on the scene.

A video posted on social media shows the large blaze inside Putney Bus Garage.

London Fire Brigade said part of the bus was damaged by fire.

In a statement, the service said: “Around 20 people left the building before firefighters arrived and there were no reports of any injuries.

“The Brigade’s 999 Control Officers received nine calls about the fire. The Brigade was called at 0821 and the fire was extinguished by 0913.

“Two fire engines from Fulham and Tooting Fire Stations attended the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.”

In a message to staff, Go Ahead said a “precautionary fleet check” of around 380 electric buses is now underway.

It added that the “events of this kind that took place inside our premises” on Wednesday “are very rare”.

On 11 January, a double-decker bus broke out into flames on Wimbledon Hill Road, south west London shortly after 7.20am.

Three fire engines and around 15 firefighters attended the scene and 25m cordon and road closures are in place, the London Fire Brigade said.

A second electric bus caught fire in North Woolwich, east London the following day, on 12 January.