Wireless charging has been introduced by a bus company in Milton Keynes to facilitate the UK's first all-electric bus route. Use of wireless battery charging technology means the electric vehicles can operate for up to 17 hours per day.

The StreetLite buses will operate on the 15 mile route and are expected to carry 800,000 passengers per year. The buses' batteries will be fully charged each night and are then topped up by wireless chargers at each end of the route, taking just 10 minutes to recharge the vehicles by almost 70%.

Speaking about the new technology Paul Adcock of route operator Arriva said, "Electric buses have huge potential, and we're exploring how they can help us take better care of the environment without compromising passenger service. With the help of the project collaborators, we'll be monitoring the buses closely over the next five years."

The top up charge will coincide with driver changes and breaks, with buses just needing to be parked over metal plates buried in the road. A second set of plates are then lowered from the bus and once within 4cm of each other, the plates can transfer current through inductive charging.

Because the buses are charged every few miles, they do not require the large and heavy batteries seen on commercial electric cars, making them operate more efficiently. South Korea is already using similar technology with a 7.5-mile stretch of road capable of recharging electric vehicles as they drive over it and without them needing to stop.

This type of technology is expected to become widespread in the coming years and has application potential for delivery vehicles and taxis as well as buses and many other vehicle types.