News
just in, the new London Mayor will be launching a one hour ‘hopper’ transfer fare which will enable passengers to transfer to other buses in under 1 hour.
One
hour 'Hopper' fare
Fare
to launch in September, helping to save millions of passengers money every year
·
People
on low incomes to benefit the most
·
The
new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that millions of Londoners are
set for cheaper and more convenient bus journeys.
Sadiq
Khan, who used the bus on his way to City Hall for his first day as Mayor of
London, confirmed today (10 May) that he will meet his manifesto commitment to
introduce a one hour ‘Hopper’ fare, and that it will be introduced in September.
The
Hopper fare will automatically be given to anyone who uses pay as you go with
Oyster cards or contactless payments, and will allow passengers to make an
additional bus journey for free within one hour of touching in on the first
bus. For the vast majority of passengers this will mean an end to having to pay
two bus fares when changing bus routes, and it is expected particularly to
benefit Londoners on lower incomes who often rely on the bus network to get
around.
Unlimited
bus transfers within one hour are not currently possible due to limits on the
technology used by Transport for London. However their ticketing technology
will be upgraded next year, enabling TfL to deliver unlimited journeys within
an hour by the end of 2018, but with an aim of doing so sooner.
The
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: "My dad drove the number 44 bus and
transport in London has always been a big part of my life. The cost of a fare in London has risen for
eight years in a row and now that I’m Mayor I am determined to prevent the cost
of travel from becoming a barrier to work.
"The
‘Hopper’ fare will make life cheaper and easier for millions of Londoners, and
will help ensure that everyone will be able to afford to travel around the
city. It is just the start of my plan to ensure that travelling around London
is affordable for everyone, a commitment that includes a freeze on TfL fares
for four years – benefiting millions of people.”
In
2015 there were an estimated two and a
half billion bus journeys in the capital including 600 million pay-as-you-go
journeys. Of these bus journeys, an estimated
86 million went on to make another bus journey within one hour.
London’s
Transport Commissioner, Mike Brown, said: “This
new option will benefit a huge number of our passengers. For many people
catching more than one bus is the only way they can get from A to B. This fare
will enable us to better meet the needs of those Londoners who live or work in areas which aren’t as well served by Tube
or rail services.”
Hopefully this may
discourage fare evasion on the 3 door 2
staircase New Routemaster buses which provide boarding at all 3 doors. This
type of transfer system is available in San Francisco, United States with their transport
service called 'Muni'.
This could be a good
challenge; how many buses you can take in under an hour with the ‘hopper’ fare
scheme? For those who've registered thier Oyster or Contactless Payment cards
with TFL you can track your journeys.
Also, I’ve tweeted TFL
asking if it will affect the daily price cap of £4.50 and I received this
response from one of their twitter feeds which said:-
@clondoner92 I've no news on that yet, updates will be posted here and on https://t.co/XI1drvpwzf when available— Piccadilly line (@piccadillyline) May 10, 2016
In other news, Go
Ahead London is to increase their hybrid bus fleet to 600 by the end of this
year.
From Route One magazine
Hybrid to play key
role in London ahead of electrics
The
operation of 300 pure-electric buses by 2020 is a realistic aim by Transport
for London (TfL), given electricity
mains supply issues, as Go-Ahead prepares for the transition from hybrids.
That’s
the view of Go-Ahead London Engineering Director Richard Harrington, as he
readies the business for Europe’s first large-scale pure-electric fleet later
this year.
He
made his comments during a handover of the first five in an order for 74 Enviro400 hybrid double-decks delivered
into Go-Ahead London.
All
are new-generation Alexander Dennis Limited MMC models and will be introduced
progressively between now and the end of the year.
They
will operate from Camberwell garage on
route 35 (Clapham Junction-Shoreditch) and route 40 (Aldgate-Dulwich).
They
form part of a strategy that will see Go-Ahead London increase its hybrid fleet to 600 by the end of this year, representing 26% of its 2,300 vehicles in
the capital.
Says
Mr Harrington: “This is a big year for us and these latest deliveries represent
another quantum leap in terms of staying at the forefront of the drive towards
ultra low-emission vehicles.
“We
will take that effort a stage further later this year when we introduce
Europe’s first large-scale fleet of 51
pure electric buses.”
ADL
will again be involved in this project as part of a joint initiative with
Chinese bus manufacturer BYD (routeONE, News, 5 August 2015).
Asked
about the anticipated speed of transition from hybrid to pure electric, Richard struck a cautionary note: “The important issue at this stage is being
prepared to participate in new technology initiatives.
“At
Go-Ahead London we have always been ready to play our part in working with TfL
and manufacturers to develop and trial the technology advancements that may ultimately
become the norm.
“We
will learn a great deal from the pure electric project, as will others, but it
remains clear that hybrid will also play a big part in the short to
medium-term.
“TfL’s
aim is to have 300 electric buses in
operation by 2020, which is a realistic objective in light of the energy
supply issues that would surround a whole-scale transition.
“So,
the message is clear: We need to keep working on improvements to the technology
that is tried and proven – and capable of doing an 18-hour shift day after day
– while also keeping one eye on the future.”
Commenting
on the order for 74 Enviro400H MMCs,
Martin Brailey, ADL’s Sales Director for London and the South East, says: “This
is another positive step in our well-established relationship with the Go-Ahead
Group.
“It takes our total hybrid sales in the UK
to beyond the 1,000 mark with around 500 for London and a further 500 operating
across the country in places such as Reading, Oxford, Essex, Lincoln,
Yorkshire, Manchester, Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Lothian, Perth and Dundee.
“That
sort of geographical coverage is testimony to the performance of our hybrids
and their wide-spread acceptance by operators and transport authorities.”
Compare that to the 3
door 2 staircase hybrid bus called the New Routemaster; bus companies in London
are buying hybrid buses of differing designs and technology. At the moment, I
am still waiting on the Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City's for route 26 which
are bought and paid for by CT Plus and are expected to enter service on 25th June 2016.
With the two door
Volvo SRM (Son of Routemaster,) six of these have been purchased by RATP-Dev
for route 13 and are expected to enter service around September.
Why did I mention the two bus types? Because the Enviro400H City has
designs based on the New Routemaster, where as the Volvo SRM has the majority
of its design based on the New Routemaster. What they both have in common is
they have fewer features compared to the main model, such as the less expensive
flooring.
The New Routemaster
bus is designed by Heatherwick Studios.
So what is important
to you? A cheap and efficient transport service which includes lower fares and
stylish bus designs like the 3 door 2 staircase New Routemaster or more zero
emission buses to combat diesel emissions? Let me know in the comments section
below.
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