Singapore-owned bus operator Metroline Limited will run a new fleet of environmentally-friendly buses on the streets of London. It is the first time in 50 years that a new bus is plying the roads of the English capital.

Called The New Bus for London (NB4L), the bus is modelled after the iconic red double-decker bus which was decommissioned in December 2005. Its hybrid technology is expected to cut the emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide to less than half that of a current diesel bus.

Metroline, which runs 80 bus routes in London, is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro. It was chosen by the mayor of London, Mr Boris Johnson, to run the first route served entirely by a fleet of NB4L.

Route 24 runs 24 hours a day from Hampstead Heath to Pimlico, via Camden, Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square, and Victoria. During peak hours, 27 of the buses will be in operation for the 28,000 passengers who use the route each day.