After the successful six-year production run of its B7TL low-floor
double-decker had been curtailed in London by increasing noise problems,
Volvo developed a leaner and quieter update which it dubbed the B9TL,
and orders resumed in strength. As diesel-engined buses gradually gave
way to battery-hybrid technology at the end of the first decade of the
21st century, Volvo unveiled the B5LH hybrid to immediate acclaim and
even healthier London sales. With most Transport for London-contracted
bus companies operating Volvo B9TLs and/or B5LHs, bodied by Wrightbus,
Alexander Dennis or MCV, this book offers a comprehensive account of the
first ten years of one of London's newest double-deck bus types, whose
career will span the rest of the 2010s and into the next decade.