Bright red double decker buses have long been one of the iconic images of London, but with the days of the diesel dinosaurs at an end, it is solar and hydrogen fuel cell buses that could be the icons of the future.

Hydrogen and electric hybrid buses are already in service in London and bus fleets across the world, but this month, the Adelaide City Council took the future of public transport a step further by introducing the world’s first solar-powered electric bus to their city streets.

Called Tindo – the Kaurna Aboriginal word for sun – the bus is the first in the world to be recharged using 100% solar energy, generated by a unique solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed on the roof of the new Adelaide Central Bus Station.

Adelaide Lord Mayor, Michael Harbison, says the bus will be used every day as a free service for the people of Adelaide through the City Council’s free Adelaide Connector Bus service.

“Tindo is at the cutting edge of sustainable solar energy technology – using the power of the sun to drive a commuter transport vehicle which operates with zero tailpipe emissions, and is also fully carbon neutral,” he says.

“Not only is Tindo the world’s first fully solar-powered electric bus, but we believe it’s also the first time such an environmentally sustainable vehicle has been incorporated into a free community bus service.”

The solar panels at the Adelaide Central Bus Station will generate almost 70,000 kilowatt hours of zero carbon emissions electricity each year, making it currently the largest grid-connected system in Adelaide.

The bus is made by New Zealand company Designline, who also provide hybrid electric buses for New York’s bus fleet, and as the solar electric bus doesn’t have a combustion engine, it is also the quietest bus in Adelaide’s fleet.