TfL have announced plans to change the boarding of the three-door two-staircase New Routemaster buses to front door entry to ensure passengers pay their fare by the driver.
Routes 8 and N8 - Changes to boarding
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Changes to boarding
From Friday 9 August 2019, customers will only be able to board routes 8 and N8 using the front door. When you board through the front door, touch your Oyster card or contactless card/device on the yellow card reader, or show the driver a valid ticket. Wheelchair users will still be able to board using the middle door.
The original purpose of the New Routemaster bus was to bring back the rear platform and conductor which served six routes; they were 9, 10, 11, 24, 38 and 390. Then in September 2016, TfL had withdrawn the conductors to save £10 million as part of the bus cuts to enable the 1 hour hopper fare.
According to TfL back in 2012, the purpose of the conductor was to supervise the rear platform; they don't collect fares or scan oyster cards.
From the TfL's old New Bus For London page
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The bus has three sets of doors, each with Oyster card readers, making it easier to get on and off. Inside, there are two staircases, one near the front and one at the back, for easy access to and from the upper deck.
The bus will run with a conductor for most of the day. Conductors will not collect fares but will supervise the rear platform when they are on board, ensuring passenger safety when hopping on or off and providing travel advice.
Prior to the New Routemaster bus there were bendy buses in London. The previous Mayor Boris Johnson and the media blamed the bendy buses on fare evasion. The bendy buses were withdrawn from London service in late 2011. TfL could have changed the way passengers boarded the bendy bus to front entry only but it would have required more space at bus stops as the length of the bendy bus (Mercedes-Benz Citaro Artic) is 18 metres long.
I think it would be quite a process for TfL to enable front door operation on all routes served by New Routemaster buses. It would cause confusion for passengers as they are used to boarding by the middle and rear door.
I do think TfL should allow bus operators to use a small number of conventional hybrids on New Routemaster routes to enable passengers to use the front door to board.
Once the process of enabling front door boarding is completed, I believe TfL should retain the idea of a three-door, two-staircase bus (in different models) to reduce dwelling times at bus stops.
I view the New Routemaster bus manufactured by Wrightbus to be an aesthetical three-door two-staircase hybrid bus. A few months ago the Singaporean Land Transport Agency placed an order for 50 Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC buses with three doors and two staircases; the bus features the glazed staircase which is a design cue from the New Routemaster bus.
New Routemaster Spin-offs
Since Wrightbus and Alexander Dennis have manufactured spin-offs of the New Routemaster bus, TfL have an option to purchase the SRM which is a two-door, one-staircase bus with design cues heavily used from the New Routemaster bus. Alexander Dennis manufactured their own spin-off which is the Enviro400 City. They are popular among bus companies in Britain with different drive types such as diesel, hybrid, biogas and pure electric. I personally think the Enviro400 City would be an iconic successor to the New Routemaster bus due to the product being uncontroversial; the design reflects similarities to the New Routemaster bus such as the front and glazed staircase design.
The SRM and Enviro400 City are options for private bus operating companies to purchase at their own choice for their contracted routes.
A small number of SRMs are on routes 37 and 183. The hybrid Enviro400H City buses are used on routes 20, 26, 78, 133, 333, 388 and night routes N26, N133, N550 and N551. I've recently mentioned that Metroline are now converting route 43 to battery electric Enviro400EV City. RATP-Dev will be converting route 94 to Enviro400EV City buses which are expected to be delivered by early next year.
As previously stated, I think Alexander Dennis should build and demonstrate a three-door two-staircase Enviro400EV City to give TfL the option to purchase these vehicles to potentially replace the hybrid New Routemaster bus in the future.
Despite how TfL is trying to change how the New Routemaster buses operate, there are still concerns about the air cooling system during high temperatures; even the window openings TfL installed couple years ago won't solve the air flow problems.
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Image attributions
By Martin49 from London, England - Stagecoach London New Routemaster LT 412 (LTZ 1412), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75795843
By bob walker from London, UK - back of a new routemaster 38, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27711003
By Spsmiler - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46251352