TfL Release Details of The New Routemaster Midlife Refurbishment Project

Summary
• The refurbishment plan will not include a retrofit of USB charging ports for passengers to charge their device.
• There are no current plans to convert NRMs to zero-emission battery electric vehicles.
• TfL said the refurbishment of the entire NRM fleet will take around five years.
• All New Routemasters are now front-door only boarding.

A Freedom of Information request made to Transport for London (TfL) has revealed details of the midlife refurbishment project of the three-door, two-staircase hybrid bus known as the New Routemaster. The NRM was designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by Wrightbus.

Request ID: FOI-0391-2122

Date published: 14 June 2021

1. Can you release research papers and reports in relation to the mid-life refurbishment for the New Routemaster?

We do not hold research papers and reports on mid-life refurbishment of buses as this is a routine activity that non-NRM buses go through and is arranged and managed by the operators on our behalf. The New Routemaster Aesthetic Midlife Refurbishment was recorded in a meeting for the Programmes and Investment Committee under Bus Renewals and Enhancements. You can access the document here: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/pic-20200305-public-agenda-documents.pdf

Please note that the scheme of work has evolved since March 2020.

2. Are there plans to convert the existing 1,000 New Routemasters to full zero-emission EV by removing the diesel engines and replacing them with new batteries? If possible can you release research in relation to it?

Currently we have no such plans. Our Financial Sustainability Plan aims to make the fleet zero emission no later than 2037 which options for bringing this forward as early as 2030 if external funding becomes available. As the NRM fleet was built from 2012 to 2017, most if not all would be due for natural replacement by the end of 2030. Until we have certainty on our funding position from Department for Transport beyond 2021, our wider plans cannot be taken further.

3. Can you list the new features added to the New Routemaster as part of the mid-life refurbishment program?

Vehicle refurbishment tends to cover the cost of repainting and replacement of components approaching life expiry such as new seats rather than the addition of new features. If there are any generic enhancements being considered for new buses closer to the time the work is placed, we may look to include them in refurbishments.

4. Will the refurbished New Routemasters contain USB charging ports in which the new electric buses have?

No, see answer to question 3 above.

5. Can you release information about the rear door modifications of the New Routemaster in which the first batch of 516 NRMs have inward opening doors? Is it part of the mid-life refurbishment program?

There were changes to the door specification which required the manufacturer to mark the rear door floor area in maroon and change the air pressure system so that a passenger could push the door and make it retract. Prior the doors opening, an automated voice announcement would also ask passengers to stand clear of the opening door. This change was built into buses being rolled out to route 453 onwards and was retrofitted to NRMs already in service. The specification for buses not yet manufactured in the 600-vehicle contract was changed from an inward-gliding door to a plug-slide door. Both sets of changes were at zero cost to TfL.

6. What is the total cost of the NRM refurbishment program?

In accordance with the FOI Act we are not obliged to supply the details we hold on our potential budget or estimated final costs as this is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2). In this instance the section 43(2) exemption has been applied as disclosure would be likely to prejudice our commercial interests.

The total cost is not yet finalised, and is still subject to commercial discussions. Until those are concluded it would not be in TfL’s interests to disclose this information as to do so would prejudice our ability to obtain best value from these discussions and in any future negotiations..

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities but in this instance the public interest in ensuring that we are able to obtain the best value for public money outweighs the general public interest in increasing transparency of our processes.

7. How many NRMs out of 1,000 have already been refurbished?

None have been refurbished to date.

8. When London Buses expect to complete the NRM refurbishment program?

Because of the number of vehicles involved, this is likely to take around five years.

In early 2019, TfL started to find a supplier for the New Routemaster Refurbishment Project by publishing a contract for companies to take part with the refurbishment project.

The summary of the contract says:

Transport for London (TfL) is an executive body of the Greater London Authority, created in 2000 as the integrated body responsible for the Capital’s transport system. Its primary role is to implement the Mayor of London’s Transport Strategy and manage transport services across the Capital. TfL is made up of many predecessor organisations covering almost all transport modes in London, and therefore has the ingredients and accumulated experience to provide one of the largest integrated transport systems in the world. TfL owns 1,000 New Routemasters (NRMs) which are leased out to bus operating companies to operate on specific routes which predominately operate in Central London. As an incarnation of the original AEC Routemaster, NRMs have become an iconic feature in London’s streets and gained reputational importance to the brand of TfL. The NRM is a unique bus designed and intended to be used in London for its full economic life. The first NRMs were introduced into TfL’s bus fleet in in February 2012 and are now due their mid-life aesthetic refurbishment. The latest operational NRM was introduced in early 2017 meaning that all 1,000 buses will need to be refurbished over the next 5 years. The objectives of this refurbishment include maintaining a good level of ambiance and vehicle standards for customers as well as the positive impacts this may have on patronage numbers.

You can read more about the contract on the UK Government Contract finder and ProContract websites.

The 9 June 2021 TfL’s Commissioner’s report has confirmed all the New Routemasters have converted to front-door only boarding by March 2021.

Front-door boarding on buses

We have completed the removal of more than 3,000 card readers from around 1,000 New Routemaster buses. The readers were installed by the centre and rear doors on New Routemaster buses to facilitate open boarding and enable customers to touch in at any door.

Prior to the pandemic, work had started to remove these as the routes were converted to front-door boarding to address revenue loss. This work was halted and reversed during the pandemic as part of the measures we put in place to keep our drivers safe while they worked. In October 2020, we restarted our work to remove readers with updated working practices to ensure social distancing could be maintained. This work was completed in March, so that all buses now operate front-door only boarding.

It’s unfortunate the Hybrid New Routemasters won’t be able to have USB charging ports like the new buses already have. Could TfL’s financial issues (as pointed out in my previous article) be a reason why TfL won’t be able to add extra features such as USB charging ports for passengers to charge their devices?

The 19 May 2021 Programmes and Investment Committee paper revealed financial savings have been made by reducing funds to the New Routemaster Refurbishment program.

The Public transport Investment Programme and Project Authority was increased at the March 2020 Programmes & Investment Committee. This includes all spend from 2020/21 to 2022/23.

The Public transport programme is forecasting a decrease in gross expenditure of £26m from the Business Plan.

This expenditure is offset by the delayed start for rail devolution, savings released on the new Routemaster buses refurbishment programme and an efficiency target applied to the portfolio, which have further reduced planned expenditure.

On page 91 of the 16 October 2020 Programmes and Investment Committee paper

, the Appendex 1 of the agenda reveals the overview of critical recommendations to making savings of £6.9 million by reducing funds for the New Routemaster Refurbishment project.

Routes served using New Routemasters

During the daytime you can ride the three door, two-staircase New Routemasters on routes:

3, 8, 9, 11, 12. 15, 16, 19, 21, 24, 27, 38, 55, 59, 67, 68, 73, 76, 87, 91, 137, 148, 149, 159, 168, 176, 189, 211, 253, 254, 267, 313, 390, 415, 453 and East London Transit routes EL1, EL2 and EL3.

The New Routemaster serves night routes:

N3, N8, N9, N11, 12, N15, N16, N19, 24, N27, N38, N55, N73, 76, N87, 148, 149, 159, 176, 189, N253, 390, 453 and EL1.

The zero-emission battery Enviro400EV City (with two-doors, one-staircase) jointly manufactured by BYD and Alexander Dennis feature styling cues from the New Routemaster, they also contain USB charging ports for passengers as part of TfL’s new bus specification. Currently 184 of these vehicles are in service in London and a further 221 vehicles are on order for the routes listed below.

You can ride the Enviro400EV City on routes:

43, 69, 93, 106, 173, 174, 212, 230, 357 and school routes 616 and 674.

These vehicles are expected to appear on routes:

49, 63, 65, 125, 132, 160, 180, 183, 281, 319, 371, school route 660 and express route X140, as part of new route contracts for bus operators.

You can read more on how the Enviro400EV City adopted styling cues from the New Routemaster here.

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