London Bus Tender Awards: Route 417 To Convert To New Double-Deck Electric Buses

This is a brief update on the London Buses tender awards as we see route 417 retained by Arriva with new zero-emission double-deck buses.

I Believe TfL Should Reform The Travelcard Agreement To Offer Smart Flexible Ticketing Options

This article is a follow-up to my previous article from April 2022 about Transport for London’s (TfL) proposal to withdraw from the Travelcard Agreement.

I've been reading the draft TfL Business Plan 2023 (for the Wednesday 7th December 2022 Board meeting) and they are still considering withdrawing from the Travelcard Agreement as part of meeting the conditions of the funding agreement with the Government.

London Bus Tender Awards: Route 38 To Continue Using New Routemasters And New Single-Deck Electric Buses For Routes 316 & P12

This is a brief update on the London Buses tender award as we see route 38 retained by Arriva with existing New Routemasters and routes 316 & P12 will be converted to new single-deck electric buses.

 

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

London Bus Tender Awards: Routes 152, 276 & D3 Awarded With New Single Deck Electric Buses! – Mayor Announces ULEZ Expansion to Greater London by 29 August 2023

This is a brief news update as Transport for London (TfL) has recently announced new London Bus tender awards.

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

TfL Publishes Consultation Outcome For Central London Bus Review With The Majority Of Routes Retained, But Some Restructured!

This is a follow-up to my previous article back in June 2022 regarding TfL’s proposal on reshaping Central London bus routes.

From TfL press release

Substantial cuts to the central and inner London bus network were proposed due to the government's Covid funding deal 

Additional funding provided by the Mayor has allowed Transport for London (TfL) to reassess its proposals for the bus network and cancel the changes Londoners were most concerned about.

The pandemic's effect on TfL's finances meant that it had to rely on a series of short-term government funding deals, which had a series of conditions and requirements. The government required TfL to make savings equivalent to four per cent of the bus network, and the package of changes were proposed to help achieve this.

London Bus Tender Awards: Route 86/N86 Retained With New Double-Deck Electric Buses

A new London Bus Tender Award by Transport for London (TfL) reveals a bus route in East London will be served with new double-deck electric buses.

LBSL intends to enter into a new contract for the following route with the operator listed below:

London Bus Tender Awards: 21/N21 Retained With Existing New Routemasters, 185 To Use New Double-deck Electric Buses And 346 Won By Stagecoach.

As we approach the end of October, Transport for London (TfL) have recently announced a new list of London Bus tender awards.

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

Reviewing TfL’s Freedom of Information Releases: Upcoming London Bus Projects, New Routemaster Refurbishment, Further Comments about High-Spec Electric Buses and More…

As many of my Twitter followers know, I tend to tweet interesting Freedom of Information (FOI) requests from the Transport for London (TfL) website.

I’ve copied and pasted some of TfL’s FOI releases to my own article to make it easier to find the recent information about London Buses on a different website.

London Bus Tender Awards: Routes 57, 199, 450, E2 & E8 To Be Served Using New Electric Buses. Also, Yutong Unveils Their New Double-Deck Electric Bus

Another month and a new London Bus Tender awards have been announced by Transport for London (TfL), revealing more routes converting to new zero-emission electric buses.

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

London Bus Tender Awards: Routes 40, 64, 83/N83, 213, 251, 265, 366, 377, 612, E5 & E7 to be served using new electric buses

After a long hiatus, the Transport for London (TfL) board has finally achieved a funding deal with the Government, which means the London Bus tender awards have resumed!

 

The awards show a whopping 11 routes will be expected to convert to zero-emission electric buses; the routes are: 40, 64, 83/N83, 213, 251, 265, 366, 377, 612, E5 & E7.

 

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

Freedom of Information Requests Published By TfL Show Criticisms Of The New High-Spec Electric Buses Used On Routes 63 & U5, And The Design Of Wrightbus’ Electroliner Demonstrator and Hydroliners

High-spec Alexander Dennis-BYD Enviro400EV City on Route 63

 

First of all, this article is not intended to criticise bus manufacturers, their products, Transport for London (TfL) or bus operators.

 

The purpose of the article is to review and evaluate the Freedom of Information (FOI) requests released to the public and to give my ideas on how to improve the issues raised. I also understand that some people will have their own ideas that may differ from mine.

 

During the week I usually keep an eye on TfL’s Freedom of Information request disclosure log on their website and tweet some of the more interesting FOI requests to my Twitter.

 

Routes 63 and U5 use BYD-Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro400EV City buses with high-spec interiors; two FOI requests revealed complaints and issues raised about them.

TfL Publishes Average Dwell Times for New Routemasters (All-Door & Open Boarding) To Compare With Other Bus Types in London

It’s been a while since I posted an article on my website and some of my followers on Twitter may have seen my tweets linking to some interesting Freedom of Information requests that I found on the Transport for London (TfL) website.

The FOI requests worthy of an article are the ones concerning the average dwell times for New Routemasters in comparison to other buses on the London Bus network.

What are dwell times?

The definition from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Glossary states: “The period in which a vehicle or train discharges and takes on passengers at a stop, including opening and closing doors and time spent standing.”

Let’s take a look at the Freedom of Information releases published by TfL:

TfL Opens Consultation to Reshape London Bus Routes in Central London – Closes On 12 July 2022

Some of my readers have already seen the news of TfL’s shocking proposal to reshape London Bus routes in Central and Inner London by amending existing and withdrawing routes.

From TfL press release

Emergency Government funding needed as a result of the pandemic was provided with conditions, including the need for TfL to reduce operating expenditure.

• Proposals aim to mitigate effect on passengers as much as possible while fulfilling Government requirement for savings

• Plans mean most customers are still able to use a single bus for their journey, TfL having worked to ensure the impact of the reduction in bus services is minimised

• Mayor's 'Hopper' fare available for any passengers needing to change buses

Proposals on reshaping the central and inner London bus network, following a Government requirement for significant savings, have been outlined by Transport for London (TfL) today.

These proposals have been set out by TfL due to the Government requiring TfL to reduce service levels on London's bus network.

My Suggestion: TfL Should Allow Companies to Sponsor London Overground Lines to Improve Journey Planning and Increase Revenue

My suggestion could be seen as controversial and not everyone will agree with this. Bear in mind that I’m not an expert in marketing and promotions, but I do like to float ideas on how to make transport services more attractive.

Transport for London (TfL) is trying to become financially sustainable and find ways to increase their revenue; their current financial settlement with the Government ends on 24 June 2022 and could expect to be renewed by the Government.

Crossrail Elizabeth Line FINALLY OPENS For Passenger Service!

After a very long wait, the Elizabeth Line finally opens for passenger service. Today (24 May 2022) has certainly been energetic, especially for people who took the very first train service to travel through the new tunnels which run from Paddington to Abbey Wood, via Canary Wharf.

Let us have a look at the press release from TfL on the opening of the Elizabeth line.

From Transport for London

Services on the transformational railway will start running from 06:30 this morning between Paddington and Abbey Wood

Consultation to Expand ULEZ to Greater London

TfL have announced a consultation on their proposal to expand ULEZ to most of Greater London to help reduce emissions and improve air quality.

From TfL press release

 

Proposals to improve air quality across the capital and significantly reduce the number of vehicles not meeting pollution standards

 

A consultation on plans to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover almost the whole of the capital from 29 August 2023 has been launched. 

 

The Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) have delivered a range of schemes to tackle the capital's toxic air crisis, the climate emergency and traffic congestion, but further bold action across the city is required. Around 4,000 premature deaths in 2019 were attributed to filthy air, with the greatest number in outer London. Bromley, Barnet, Havering and Croydon were the boroughs with the highest number of early deaths, showing that poor air quality is not just a central London problem. More extreme weather events are predicted if the world fails to act to reduce carbon emissions, with London already seeing these in the form of flash floods in 2021.

London Bus Tender Awards: Route 307 to Receive New Double-deck Electric Buses and Elizabeth Line’s Main Central Core to Open on 24th May 2022

Route 307 which serves the north of Greater London from Barnet Hospital to Brimsdown Station will soon be operated with new double-deck electric buses as part of the new contract won by Arriva London.

LBSL intends to enter into a new contract for the following route with the operator listed below:

Why is Transport for London Proposing to Withdraw from the Travelcard Agreement? As Part of Phasing out Paper Tickets?

I’ve been hesitant in writing this article because I’ve seen there are concerns on social media about Transport for London’s (TfL) proposal to withdraw from the Travelcard Agreement. The purpose of this article is to reveal more information from my own research on why the proposal is happening.

This was first revealed in December 2021 by a BBC London News journalist as part of TfL’s negotiations for a new financial settlement by the Government.

London Bus Tender Awards – Electric Buses for Routes 353, 359 & B13 and New Routemasters for Routes H32 & H91

We have received a London Bus news update as TfL have recently announced new London Bus tender awards.

 

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

London Bus Tender Awards: Route 149 To Continue Using New Routemasters – Also, Bus Types To Be Commenced For Other Routes

This is a brief London Bus news update as TfL have recently announced new London Bus tender awards.

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

My Response To TfL’s Bus Action Plan, Published In March 2022 - Does London Have The Largest Bus Rapid Transit System? And Bus Improvement Plans In The UK And Ireland

I realise I’m rather late with my report covering this news but I’ve been writing this article in my spare time. I have also included the news from Manchester and Ireland about their bus improvement plans.

On 11th March 2022, Transport for London unveiled their new Bus Action Plan to help improve bus services in Greater London.

From TfL Press Release

Bus Action Plan sets out TfL's priorities for faster journeys, an improved customer experience, and the decarbonising of the network.

London Bus Tender Awards: Route 248 Awarded To Arriva London With Existing New Routemasters – Route 111 to be served with Wrightbus Electroliners

It’s been a while since Transport for London (TfL) announced a new London Bus tender awards, which was delayed due to funding renewal issues with the Department for Transport (DfT), as mentioned in my previous article last month (February 2022).

 

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

It’s been 10 years since the New Routemaster entered service – from a rear platform bus with conductor, to a three-door, two-staircase hybrid bus

Ten years ago, the Wrightbus New Routemaster (LT2) first entered public service on 27th February 2012, on Route 38.

The New Routemaster (previously named New Bus for London) is a three-door, two-staircase diesel-hybrid bus. It originally had an open platform design with conductor which lasted until September 2016 on routes 9, 10, 11, 24, 38 and 390.

This article features texts from Transport for London (TfL), the Greater London Authority (GLA), and Government and UK Parliament websites about the New Routemaster, including specifications.

Let’s take a look at the press release of the passenger service launch day of the New Routemaster which took place on 27th February 2012.

TfL Launches ‘Enhanced Customer Specification Electric Buses’ on Route 63

It’s been nearly two months since I’ve published an article on my website due to the fact that I’ve been posting on Twitter more often, and also because there hasn’t really been any interesting bus related news to report on, due to TfL’s current financial situation.

TfL Press Release:

New green, productivity boosting buses introduced – but no more will be delivered until a long-term funding deal is secured

New route 63 buses include a host of customer-friendly features to make bus travel an even more attractive alternative to the car

A fleet of new, higher specification all-electric buses are being introduced on a key London bus route to encourage even more people back on to public transport as London recovers from the pandemic.

The new ultra-modern buses were first developed around two years ago, and are a sign of what the future of buses could be if the Government agrees a long term funding deal with Transport for London (TfL). Without a deal, the less green and increasingly ageing bus fleet will have to remain on the roads.