A bus news website called Route-One has published an article raising the issue about the operating deficit for London Bus services.
From Route-One
London bus deficit to hit £1.8m a day
Falling passenger numbers, increased costs and the effects of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s fares freeze means that London’s bus operating deficit is set to rise from £599m in 2016/17 to £647m - £1.8m a day - by 2022/23, admits Transport for London (TfL).
Over the same period bus passenger numbers are expected to fall from 2.262bn to 2.23bn this year. It is then expected to rise to 2.299bn by 2022/23.
Similar passenger forecasts have been projected for London Underground.
As a result TfL has cut its expectations of fare revenues over the next five years by £1.6bn.
The news comes in TfL’s new business plan, which shows markedly lower fare revenue projections, than those a year ago.
Already TfL has axed its graduate trainee programme, halted the purchase of new trains and is lowering the frequency of some bus routes.
The TfL Business Plan is here
Route-One has also reported on TfL cutting frequency for London Bus night services; I believe this is due to night Tube services.
From Route-One
Decline in night bus use leads to frequency cuts
Falling passenger numbers are seeing frequency cuts to London’s night bus network.
Transport for London (TfL) says that no frequencies will drop below half-hourly.
While the night tube network on Fridays and Saturdays, started in 2016, has had some effect, the decline is seen network-wide on radial routes from London at weekends
LOTS News has reported that TfL will be trialing route-branding for bus services serving Hayes in West London.
From Monday 22nd January a second local route branding exercise in London is due to begin. This time it is in the Hayes are of west London but, unlike in Barkingside where 75% of buses on each of seven routes were treated, at Hayes it will just 25% of buses on each of twelve routes. These are 90, 140, 195, 350, 427, 607, A10, E6, H98, U4, U5 and U7. The branding is more modest than at Barkingside.
Here’s the rest of the London Bus news update from LOTS:
1) The changes of operator on routes 99, 269, 401 and 422 in SE London duly took place on the 20th as planned. In two weeks’ time on 3rd Feb it will be the turn of routes 153, 299 and W4 in north London and the 343 and B14 in SE London to follow suit.
2) Saturday 20th saw Reading Transport begin service around Slough on former First Berkshire service 5 (Daily) plus 4 (evenings) and 6 (Sundays) using former Courtney Buses Solos, while Courtney itself took up service on services 10 and 15/15A in the same area. More will follow from 30th January with both those operators on former First route 2 from 30th January.
3) Further to last week’s news items, the WSs from London General route 170 were switched to route 286 (Greenwich & Sidcup) after being removed from the 170 due to a re-signed low bridge that rendered it illegal to operate under it. The 170 is now served by 2004 vintage Dart SLFs and 2014 E200s.
I invite you to follow me on Twitter and Google Plus by searching for @CLondoner92
Related articles
