Fare Hikes around the world as TfL freezes fares for 4 years!

Back in February 2015, I published an article about fare rises on various public transport services around the world.

As London Transport fares are frozen for four years, with the exception of Travelcards, Pay-as-You-Go caps and National Rail fares; I have reproduced some articles below covering transport fare rises from around the world - mostly from the United States.

Year in review: roundup of 2016

Today is the 25th December 2016, Christmas day, so I hope you all enjoy it, eat plenty of festive food and enjoy a Christmas tipple to celebrate with your family and friends.

More new bus purchases for December 2016

Another news update - bus companies are purchasing new buses for their services:

Bus Rapid Transit for Sheffield opens - and more news for London

This is going to be a compilation of recent articles that I’ve selected from various sources about Transport in Britain - a mixture of good and bad news.

First off, Sheffield opens up their own Bus Rapid Transit scheme:

Mid December 2016 tender awards

Double deck electric bus manufactured by BYD

I have a short news update for you on the London Buses tender awards.

TfL board papers for 15th December 2016 meeting

As the board papers are out for the final board meeting of this year, I will show you some of the extracts from the selected board papers.

You can view the papers from the board meeting here.

Taking a look at the commissioner’s report.

Slow rollout of New Routemasters for route 21

The rollout of the three-door two-staircase hybrid buses called New Routemasters continues. However, route 21’s conversion is slow, but according to London Vehicle Finder there is usually one New Routemaster in service. Route 21 is operated from New Cross (NX) garage and is contracted to Go Ahead London.

The past week has been one of the slowest for some months for new buses into service In London, still with several of Go-Ahead’s MHVs, WHVs and EHs plus Metroline’s VWHs parked up. However, two months after the contract date, just two LTs have now entered service on Go-Ahead route 21.

Keep an eye on route 21 at the London Vehicle Finder website to see when a New Routemaster enters service, the fleet code starts with ‘LT’.

BYD D9UR Enviro200 MMC Electric Bus

Back in August 2015, I published an article about Go Ahead purchasing BYD eBuses with the Enviro200 MMC bodywork. I also wrote another one back in September 2016 when they were officially launched on the Red Arrow routes – they entered service though back in late August 2016.

The long wait is finally over, and I finally get to ride that lovely new electric bus with its very futuristic style Enviro200 MMC bodywork.

Ride the classic AEC Routemaster on Route 15 – they’re still running!

Not many commuters and tourists are aware that the vintage ‘AEC Routemasters’ are still operating on route 15 between Charing Cross and Tower Hill/Tower of London.

TfL haven’t given much publicity to the AEC Routemasters on route 15, but they do mention them in the last paragraph on the New Routemaster page on their website and also the ‘where can I use contactless’ page.

Looks like Network Rail is going to split

Looking at the recent news reports, it looks like the up-and-coming franchises will integrate rail infrastructure with the train companies; in short, privatising Network Rail.

From Department for Transport

London Bus Oddity – Mixed operators on route 60

This is an update to my original article titled ‘The Oddities of London Buses’. I decided to catalogue the events in separate articles.

I’ll use the sources below to show you the trouble with Route 60 after Capital Logistics won the contract back in 1998.

Hybrids for London Bus route 120

New classic Enviro200 with 'New Routemaster' style interior from Enviro400H City

A quick news update – here are the new London Bus tender awards:

TfL takeover of London suburban rail routes and what is missing?

Firstly, I should say that I’m not as much of a railway enthusiast as I am with buses, but I do want to express my view on this proposal by TFL.

TFL and Wrightbus unveils the hydrogen double deck bus!

This news is hot off the wire from yesterday!!!

From Wrightbus

London’s City Hall was the venue for the launch today (30 November 2016) of the new Wrightbus – zero-emission double deck bus.  The zero-emission vehicle debuts a new hydrogen fuel cell driveline from Wrightbus which will rapidly become available to power both single deck and double deck buses as it becomes fully production ready next year.

The new technology from the Northern Ireland company provides a zero-emission drive system which encompasses a hydrogen fuel cell and a battery pack to power the vehicle. The combination of these two technologies makes the continuous daily operation of the public transport vehicle feasible.

More Enviro400H City buses for London bus routes 133 and 333!

The Enviro400H City design is based from the New Routemaster bus.

On 1^st October I published an article showing that routes 133 and 333 will be having futuristic style Enviro400H City buses.

Proposed changes to 23 London Bus Routes

Massive new proposals for London Bus Routes 3, 6, 8, 15, 22, 23, 25, 46, 73, 137, 172, 242, 332, 390, 425, 452, C2, N2, N3, N8, N15, N22 and N73.

Routes 3, 8, 15, 73, 137 and 390 use the three-door and two-staircase hybrid buses known as New Routemasters.

From TfL Press release

TfL has today launched a consultation on proposed changes to 23 central London bus routes to better match bus services with demand from passengers.

Behold, the four-year fare freeze for London Transport!

Some good news has just arrived on my desk - fares for London Transport services have been frozen for four years!

Timetable and maps for London National Rail services

Looking at TfL’s website - they don’t feature timetables for National Rail services, only timetables for their own services such as London Buses, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, London Overground and TFL Rail.

TfL do have a map though which shows the railway services in London as they are part of the Oyster Pay-As-You-Go fare system. TFL also provide “National Rail journeys,” on their Journey Planner.

Two more hybrid routes for London buses

This is a quick follow up to my previous article titled ‘November 2016 - New Buses for London Buses’

The new TFL tender awards show that two bus routes will have Euro VI Hybrid double-decks.

November 2016 - New Buses for London Buses

Since I haven’t published any news updates for a few days, I’ve decided to use the list from the London Bus Routes Service Changes page to show you the up-and-coming routes with new buses.

Route 254 to convert to New Routemasters

Route 254 map

Sorry for the late news update - LOTS have reported from the TFL tender awards that route 254 will be the next to convert to the three-door two-staircase hybrid buses called ‘New Routemasters.’

TfL Board papers for 8th November 2016 meeting

The board papers for the 8th November TFL board meeting are out so below I will show you some parts from those board papers.

First a quick look at the Commissioners report.

ULTra Heathrow Pods PRT – we need them everywhere!

ULTra (Urban Rapid Transit) is a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system for Heathrow Airport.

The pod-car system was developed by a British engineering company called Ultra Global PRT. The pod-cars use four car batteries as they don’t have any engines; they use 50% less energy than a bus does, are driverless, computer driven and are guided by lasers on an open guideway; they also charge automatically at the charging points and instead of rails, they use rubber tyres.

Optare unveils their electric double-deck - launched at Euro Bus Expo 2016

First we saw the Alexander Dennis Enviro400H MMC Virtual Electric for route 69 launched at the Bus Expo, then the BYD double deck electric bus for route 98 - followed by the Volvo B5LHC with Wright SRM (2 door New Routemaster) body, and now Optare has unveiled the Metrodecker EV!

From Optare

Optare celebrated the launch of the Metrodecker EV prototype at an unveiling ceremony at Euro Bus Expo 2016 at the NEC in Birmingham. The Metrodecker EV will go into service in central London with Go-Ahead London in early 2017 to prove the concept and provide operational feedback to aid further development. The 10.5m, lightweight, fully electric, double deck has a passenger capacity of 96 and a forecast range of between 105 and 145 miles on a single charge. Optare is working on further developments to the vehicle which will increase the range in production vehicles to over 150 miles.

Volvo launches the B5LHC double-deck electric hybrid with SRM (2 door New Routemaster) body!

At last, Volvo has unveiled the B5LHC Double-Deck Electric Hybrid chassis at the Euro Bus Expo show in Birmingham.

Route X26 awarded back to Metrobus with double deck buses

In this article, I have an exciting news update from LOTS from the recent London Bus tender awards:

Arriva Merseyside to purchase 12 electric buses; Reading Buses to trial dual-door buses and three-door two-staircase Enviro500 MMC

Britain is to see another increase in the number of electric buses!

First up we have some news from BYD and Alexander Dennis

                                                                             

The partnership of Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and BYD, which is well advanced on the delivery of 51 12m single decker’s to Go-Ahead London, has won its first order outside the capital. Arriva North West, the Merseyside operator, has ordered 12 of the BYD ADL Enviro200 EV model 12m buses for service on the City Centre Circular Routes 26 and 27, known as The Belt.

30 years of Bus Deregulation in Britain

On 26^th October 1989, bus services around Britain were deregulated under the Transport Act 1985. In this article I will give you bit of history on how it all started and then progressed.

In short, deregulation means the government gives more powers to private bus companies to set up their own bus routes and fares - and compete against other bus companies for profits.

REVEALED Battery electric SRM (2 door New Routemaster!)

First off, Transdev Blazefield in Harrogate have ordered eight Volvo electric 7900e buses expecting to be delivered in the first quarter of 2018.

10 million London Bus journeys made with the new ‘hopper fare’

The Hopper Fare was launched on 12^th September 2016 and has enjoyed great success with more than 10 million journeys being made so far. TFL and the London Mayor’s office have now unveiled their top 20 ‘hopper’ fare routes.

Contactless payment cards come to Stagecoach buses

Outside of London, Stagecoach Buses have launched contactless bank cards on their Oxfordshire services.

More new bus purchases, new West Croydon bus station and another SRM update

I have lots of bus news for you today from around Britain and Ireland and have selected various articles from the Web which I’ll re-print here and comment on, so let’s begin.

First up, we have the news that Stagecoach East Scotland has ordered the Volvo B5LH with Enviro400 MMC bodywork for their routes 20 and 21.

From Bus and Coach

Stagecoach has ordered seven Volvo/ADL hybrid double-decks for its Dundee and Angus bus fleet with delivery due next spring.

The new buses will be introduced to routes 20 and 21, which run between Brechin, Forfar, Kirriemuir and Dundee providing regular journeys for commuters, students and shoppers into the city as well as providing vital local links to Stracathro Hospital.

National Express West Midlands buys 5 Streetdecks

National Express has purchased five Wrightbus Streetdecks with Euro 6 engines for their services.

90 years of EYMS and another SRM update

I have some big news about the bus scene in England and will start off with the news extract regarding the anniversary of East Yorkshire Motorbus Service (EYMS).

Night Tube comes to Jubilee Line

A short news update:

Media names the wrong bus in the 2nd October 2016 bus fire near Liverpool Street station

On the morning of October 2^nd 2016, an Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City (CT Plus 2510, SN16OHZ) on Route 26 suffered serious fire damage outside London’s Liverpool Street railway station.

I have saved various news articles into Archive.is that mistake the Enviro400H City to be a 3 door 2 staircase New Routemaster.

Big proposals for the City of London Bus Routes

There’s going to be big changes to routes 11/N11, 23 100, 133/N133, 153, 214 and 388 which serves the City of London, also known as the Square Mile.

Routes 133 & 333 to be served with Enviro400H City buses

London Buses Route 333 will be fully converted to the Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City buses and Route 133 will be partly served with the Enviro400H City buses too.

Late September 2016 London Bus tender awards

New awards with some routes gaining new futuristic buses

Breaking News -huge tender awards from London Buses.

The following TfL contracts have been announced today:

Delays to route 253 conversion to New Routemasters

News update from LOTS:

1) A considerable number of new buses are delivered but not yet running, most awaiting fitment of Oyster readers and/or ticket machine equipment.  As well as LTs at Arriva for the 253, some LTs for Metroline route 189 and at least 16 VWHs for Harrow Weald are all in store.  Numerous new MHVs for Go-Ahead and now some new WHVs have joined them.  However, two of Catford’s three new E40Ds (10348-50) and a few more BYD/ADL electrics have entered service in the past week. 

Magtec to launch hydrogen double-deck bus

A short news update; we are finally seeing a double deck hydrogen bus which is set to enter service on London Buses route 308.

From Route One

Testing as electric bus will be followed by addition of hydrogen range extender by the end of 2016

South Yorkshire-based electric driveline specialist Magtec has announced that it is to create what is believed to be the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell-equipped double-decker.

1-hour hopper fare for London Buses is not unlimited transfers

One Day Bus and Tram Oyster card

I’ve found an article on the London Reconnections website and they have interviewed Shashi Verma (TfL’s Director of Technology and Customer Experience) about unlimited transfers within 1 hour for the hopper fare.

London Bus ridership falls by 3.2%

Some bad news for London Buses; the number of people riding them has fallen according to the latest figures from Department for Transport.

From Route-One

The number of journeys by bus in London fell by 3.6% in 12 months ending 30 June, according to the latest official figures from the Department for Transport (DfT), compared with a 1.8% decrease in the rest of England.

Route 360 to have Electric buses

The very first Hybrid bus route will be replaced by battery electric single deck buses after over 10 years of hybrid service on route 360.

Good news and Bad news for London Buses on 12th September 2016

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first:

Bus services that are operated by Tower Transit are on strike today!

London Mayor launches the new electric buses on Red Arrow routes 507 & 521

So the launch now officially begins for the Alexander Dennis Envrio200 MMC BYD eBus to enter service on Red Arrow Routes 507 and 521.

From Greater London Authority

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London (TfL) have announced that the capital will own Europe’s largest fleet of electric buses, as they revealed the first two all-electric bus routes for central London.

The Mayor announced that routes 507 and 521 will exclusively run a 51-strong fleet of all-electric buses by the end of the year, as part of his ambitious campaign for a dramatic improvement in of air quality in the capital. Combined with 22 all-electric buses already running in outer London, it will take the capital’s entire fleet of electric buses up to 73 – the largest in Europe.

1 hour London Bus hopper fare finally launches on Monday 12 September

Finally, after the long wait, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announces the new London Bus hopper fare to launch on Monday 12^th September 2016 as part of his election promise.

From Greater London Authority

CT Plus gains two bus routes from TFL tender awards

CT Plus operates the stylish Enviro400H City on route 26

I have a short news update: a social enterprise bus company based in Hackney called CT Plus has gained two new London Bus route contracts as well as retaining three of their routes.

Abellio Surrey announces bus cuts

Abellio Surrey have issued a press release on their website announcing cuts to their services in the Surrey area.

Tower Transit wins route 13 (re-numbered from 82) contract!

As we enter Sept we have new tender awards for the London Bus operators and we will see new changes to bus services coming in 2017.

New Enviro200 MMC BYD eBuses enter service on Red Arrow routes 507 & 521

Credit to @Ritchhh for the image

This is a short news update.

According to London Vehicle Finder, the all new Enviro200 MMC BYD eBus (fleetcode SEe) has entered service on London Buses Red Arrow routes 507 and 521.

New Hybrids for London Bus routes 2, 19 and 249

A quick news update on the London Bus scene; Arriva London has won the contract to operate new hybrids on London Buses routes 2, 19 and 249.

London Bus contracting: operators get paid by the mile

This is one of my spontaneous articles going into great detail about London Bus operations.

Ever since London Bus services were privatised during the mid-1990’s, to competitive tender, I’ve been watching closely and have found out they’ve talked about the Cost-Per-Mile on the route contract.

I won’t go into detail about the contracting, but TFL have hosted a document on their website which is titled ‘London’s Bus Contracting and Tendering Process’.

Here’s the selected routes I’ve listed, the calculations may not be accurate so please forgive me if there’s any errors on this:

A short update on electric buses for London and the Volvo SRM at the 2016 Imber Bus Rally

Wright SRM at the 2016 Imber Bus rally

Credit to KS LAB (KS Chow) on Flickr

First off, let me bring you up-to-date regarding the Electric Bus rollout in Central London.

From LOTS

Sunday 21 August

1) The first few of the BYD/ADL E200EV electric buses (SEe class) are now in London being prepared for use on routes 507 and 521, hopefully during the coming week.  The intended fleet class code has been changed from EE to SEe  (i.e. to link the Enviro200 class SE with e = electric, this being in lower case lettering –a ‘first’ for London).   The two electric Irizars (EI 1 and 2) were last used on the ‘Red Arrows’  on 15th August prior to being moved to New Cross for intended use soon on route 108.

Photos of Bendy Buses in London

Taking a trip down memory lane to the decade of the 2000’s, twelve London Bus routes operated with articulated buses. The type of articulated bus was the Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro G artic.

The photographs are taken from Wikimedia Commons.

London Buses route 12

Go Ahead London Central MAL91 BX54UDZ

By oyxman - Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2141681

Operated from 06th November 2004 till 05th November 2011

More night buses to come in line with Night Tube

Newbury Park station which serves the Central Line

Last year I published an article back on 29th August 2015 when I was disappointed with route 296 operating a night service in order to connect people from Newbury Park station to Romford.

But thankfully route 296 will operate their weekend night service in line with the Night Tube on 19^th August 2016.

Sullivan buses wins route W9 and retains 298

A brief news update; Sullivan Buses, a small bus company based in Hertfordshire has won London Buses‘route W9’ and retains route 298 contracts.

Abellio wins East Anglia railway franchise

Abellio wins the 9-year franchise to operate the East Anglia railways; their contract commences on October 2016 and runs until 2025.

Abellio is owned by Nederlandse Spoorwegen which is a state owned company in the Netherlands and run by the government. Despite Britain voting to leave the EU, no changes have been made to Britain’s railways.

Wrightbus reveals their new range of electric buses

As we are set to see the Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC BYD eBus appear on Red Arrow routes 507 and 521, Wrightbus have unveiled their range of electric buses.

StreetLite EV

From Wrightbus

Wrightbus has unveiled two key new products from its ‘Electrocity’ range of buses - the StreetLite EV and the StreetAir EV.  The new offerings are part of a range announced last year which builds upon the company’s extensive experience to date and will provide operators with an unprecedented choice of vehicle formats and charging systems.

London Buses Route 5 to serve Queen’s Hospital

Another consultation has come for Route 5 as they are proposing to divert the route to serve Queen’s Hospital in Romford.

First Crossrail train takes to the test track

How time flies! We are already in August now and I have some news regarding TFL as they have unveiled the new Crossrail Elizabeth Line ‘Class 345’ train at Bombardier Transportation test track in Derby.

From TFL press release

The first of the new state-of-the-art Elizabeth line trains, which will transform travel across the Capital, was unveiled by TfL today as it took to the test track at Bombardier Transportation in Derby.

New Routemasters for East London Transit!

A couple of weeks ago I published an article suggesting that New Routemaster routes should have a branded bus service, then out of the blue TfL decides to have East London Transit routes with New Routemaster buses that have 3 doors and 2 staircases.

Route 48 is also listed for New Routemaster conversion and a follow up with various routes converting to standard hybrid buses.

Government awards £30 million funding for low emission buses

Bus operators, local authorities and transport authorities took part in bidding for funds for new low emission buses.

2016 London Tour bus prices

As we are now in the summer, I've published the chart below showing you the 2016 update of the comparison of the Tour bus companies operating in London.