【A Thought of Ecstasy】

LONDON -- Journeying home when your phone is A Thought of Ecstasyabout to die is a commuter's nightmare. What about that podcast you were so looking forward to? What about Lady Gaga's new single? All these possibilities are shattered.

Until now.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has come to the rescue with the announcement that the capital will now be home to Europe's largest fleet of electric buses. But these buses won't just eliminate NOx -- oxides of nitrogen -- pollutants on the routes and reduce CO2 emissions by 40 percent, they'll also have 12 seats with USB sockets, so passengers can charge their phones.

The single-deck buses will also be the first to include screens showing how the Tube and Overground are running, as well as details of the next five bus stops.

Bus routes 507, which travels from Waterloo to Victoria, and 521, going from Waterloo to London Bridge, will exclusively run the fleet of 51 all-electric buses by the end of the year. Combined with the 22 all-electric buses currently on the road in outer London, the capital's fleet will total 73 -- the largest in Europe.

According to City Hall, this forms part of Khan's campaign for a "dramatic improvement of air quality in the capital." “It’s vital that we act now to clean up our capital’s toxic air and do everything we can to help prevent the thousands of deaths it causes each year," Khan said in a statement. “These first two electric bus routes right through the heart of London are another step towards the end of conventional diesel buses on our roads. This will deliver extensive air-quality benefits and position us as a true world leader in adopting ultra-low-emission vehicle technology."