A fleet of 87 electric buses with zero emissions will start running on the streets of London in July.

Arriva has signed a deal with Wrightbus manufacturers in Northern Ireland for 11 single-decker and 76 double-decker ‘Electroliners’, it has been confirmed.

“These buses are a milestone to make travel greener,” Arriva UK’s London managing director Marcos Hart said.

“The zero-emission fleet will help the sustainable public transport network.”

The order from Arriva follows trials in London in January when assessments showed they ran with 86 per cent less CO2 emissions per mile than a diesel double-decker, with their rapid recharging times back at the depot.

The quiet, smooth-running Electroliner is reminiscent of London’s famous trolleybuses that ran for almost 30 years before being scrapped in 1961 — but this time without the fixed overhead wires and cables suspended from 30ft poles that cluttered the streets.

Arriva now joins the growing movement to replace London’s diesel buses with rechargeable Electroliners.

These include the Go-Ahead company’s fleet of 2,400 buses being switched to electric that operate from garages in Silvertown, Northumberland Park, Peckham, Camberwell, New Cross Waterloo, Putney and Morden, all aimed at boosting the Mayor of London’s programme to ‘decarbonise’ public transport.