Don’t forget your cables at home, people, because Transport for London announced they’re introducing 51 new electric buses in central London - all featuring USB charger ports on every seat.
If you call Buses 507 and 521 your daily grind-home then you're one of the fortunate few who’ll be riding on Central London’s first fully electric buses, charging your phone enroute to Victoria, Waterloo or London Bridge.
The USB sockets will be installed on the back 12 chairs, alongside screens that give you regular travel updatesof upcoming bus stops, or if the Overground or Tube is delayed/on strike/actually running smoothly for once.
Since phone companies haven’t cracked how to make phone batteries last three thousand days like our old Nokias did, we’ve had to adapt life to suit the needs being in the loop inevitably brings.
The new buses were unveiled at Waterloo Bus Garage last week. Running solely on electricity, these are the first step toward all 300 single-deck London buses becoming emission free by 2020. The first 2 electronic bus routes through the heart of the city will eliminate all nitrogen dioxide emissions, and reduce carbon emissions by 40% in the city. The move to electric is part of the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s “comprehensive plan to improve our air.”
He mentioned in a statement: “It’s vital we act now to clean up our capital’s air and do everything we can to help prevent the thousands of deaths it causes every year.” The addition of 51 to the 22 already in Croydon will make London’s fleet of electric buses the largest in Europe.
Cynics may quibble, “why do people care about phone chargers on buses more than the fact that we’re getting electric buses?” Well, yeah. The new introduction will mean better air quality, better journeys and less noise and vibrations. And maybe our phones dying will let us hear the voices in our heads, telling us it’s time to tap out of social media for a little while. Then again, anything could happen while your screen is incurably dark… what if Nick replied on Bumble? Or Mum asks who wants the last slice of lemon drizzle? Plus, no relief feels better than when you plunge that charger in (oo, err), and you see the lightning bolt next to a battery on its last percent of breath.
Yes, cleaner air is obviously brilliant, but it’s still the little things in life that make us happiest, I suppose.
You Might Also Be Interested In:
Study Says Boys With Beards Make Better Long Term Boyfriends
Follow Mimi on Twitter: @mimikdavies
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.