Battery electric bus in the context of "Trolleybus"

An electric bus is a bus that is propelled using electric motors, as opposed to a conventional internal combustion engine. Electric buses can store the needed electrical energy on board, or be fed mains electricity continuously from an external source such as overhead lines. The majority of buses using on-board energy storage are battery electric buses (which is what this article mostly deals with), where the electric motor obtains energy from an onboard battery pack, although examples of other storage modes do exist, such as the gyrobus that uses flywheel energy storage. When electricity is not stored on board, it is supplied by contact with outside power supplies, for example, via a current collector (like the overhead conduction poles in trolleybuses), or with a ground-level power supply, or through inductive charging.

As of 2017, 99% of all battery electric buses in the world have been deployed in Mainland China, with more than 421,000 buses on the road, which is 17% of China's total bus fleet. For comparison, the United States had 300, and Europe had 2,250. By 2021, China's share of electric buses remained at 98% while Europe had reached 8,500 electric buses, with the largest fleet in Europe being Moscow.

The Volvo B5LH (initially known as the Volvo B5L Hybrid, also known as the Volvo BRLH) is a low-floor hybrid electric bus chassis for both single-decker buses and double-decker buses manufactured by Volvo since 2008. It is the basis for Volvo's integral 7700 Hybrid full low floor city bus and its successor, the 7900 Hybrid from 2011. In 2008, pre-production batches of both types of chassis were manufactured. Serial production started in June 2010. From 2013 it is also available as an articulated bus chassis.

An updated version, the Volvo B5LHC, was launched in 2016, designed for high-capacity inner-city work. The chassis was available with Wright SRM bodywork. The B5LHC was discontinued in 2018 after only two examples built, with Volvo instead focusing on developing the Volvo BZL battery electric bus chassis.

Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn omnibus service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London bus has become a symbol of the city. In 2019, buses accounted for 11 percent of trips taken in the city.

As of 2025, London has 675 bus routes served by over 8,700 buses, almost all of which are operated by private companies under contract to (and regulated by) London Buses, part of the publicly owned Transport for London. Over 2,000 buses in the fleet are battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses, the second largest zero emission bus fleet in Europe (behind Moscow). In 2006, London became one of the first major cities in the world to have an accessible, low floor bus fleet.