The first ever electric bus routes in Central London are set to be rolled out ‘by the end of the year’, featuring USB sockets so that passengers can charge their phones.

Sadiq Khan announced that 51 electric buses will operate two of London’s busiest routes in an attempt to clean up the city’s ‘toxic air’.

The entire electric bus fleet in London has now been described as the largest in Europe as the new buses join the 22 already running in Croydon, which has taken the total up to 73.

The move is the first step towards making all 300 of Central London’s single decker buses zero emission by 2020 and all 3,100 double deck buses hybrid by 2019.

The zero exhaust buses will result in cleaner air and lower carbon emissions along with less noise and vibration for passengers on the bus.

Route 507, which runs between Waterloo and Victoria stations, and the 521, which runs between Waterloo and London Bridge, will both run only electric buses.

The buses will also feature screens showing the next five stops and with updates on how the Overground and Tube are running. 12 seats on each bus will also feature USB sockets for passengers to use.

The all electric single deck buses will eliminate nitrogen oxide emissions and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 40%.

The first nine of the new 51 buses were unveiled at Waterloo Bus Garage after Mayor Khan met the Mayor of Shenzhen in China to discuss air pollution.

The London Mayor commented: 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.

I’ve set out a comprehensive plan to improve our air, and the transformation of London’s bus fleet will play a key role in making our transport cleaner and healthier.