London Bus Tender Awards: New Route 310 Trial From 31 August 2024 Between Golders Green and Stamford Hill

Diagram of Route 310 trial

It is announced that by the end of August 2024, Transport for London (TfL) will be launching Route 310 as a trial bus service, serving from Golders Green to Stamford Hill via Whittington Hospital. They will be using existing diesel single-deck buses.

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

Route 310
Current Operator: N/A - New Route
New Operator: Stagecoach London
Peak Vehicle Requirement: 8
Vehicles: Existing Diesel Single Deckers
Contract Start Date: 31st August 2024
Contract End Date: TBC

London Bus Tender Awards: New Electric Buses For Routes 196, 337 And Superloop Route SL6

Volvo BZL for Arriva London

As the Summer Olympics are due to start in Paris, France, with the opening ceremony. Transport for London (TfL) has announced that routes 196, 337 and Superloop Route SL6 have been awarded with new double-deck electric buses.

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

London Bus Tender Awards: Bus Operating Company Uno Wins Route 298 Contract

As this is a short London Bus Tender Award, small bus operating company Sullivan Buses loses route 298 contract to Uno (Universitybus Limited), which is owned by the University of Hertfordshire.

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

Route 298
Current Operator: Sullivan Buses
New Operator: Uno
Peak Vehicle Requirement: 6
Vehicles: Existing diesel double deck
Contract Start Date: 8th February 2025
Contract End Date: 4th February 2028

Revealed: Photos Of Newly Built BYD eBus BD11 Double-Deck Electric Buses For Go-Ahead London

A post from Weibo about the BYD BD11

It has been revealed on a Chinese social media website, Weibo, that a user named Hangzhou Bus Information (杭州巴士资讯) has unveiled photos of the newly built BYD eBus BD11 double-deck electric buses for Go-Ahead London.

Translation of the text from the post on Weibo:

London Bus Tender Awards: New Single-Deck Electric Buses For Route B16

As we are in the middle of July 2024, it has been revealed that route B16 is the next route to use zero-emission single-deck buses, which is expected to enter service by next year (2025).

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

Transport for London Reveals The Top 10 Oldest Oyster Cards Still In Use, As Of Mid-2024

Cover of the Oyster card guide booklet from 2003

A Freedom of Information request to Transport for London (TfL) has revealed the top 10 Oyster cards that were first enabled are still in use.

Request ID: FOI-1011-2425
Date published: 15 July 2024

Question:

A prominent user on X (formerly Twitter) named 'CLondoner92' has posted a link to your FOI request about the oldest Oyster card still in use.

Australia: Sydney Expects To Launch Their New Metro City Service By August 4 2024

Map of the Sydney Metro City and Southwest

This news is worthy of its own article because I'd like to show that in various parts of the world, their governments are delivering new transport infrastructure to provide new links to residents and visitors.

In New South Wales (NSW), Australia, the state government and Sydney Metro announce their expectations to open their new Metro City service by August 4th 2024.

From Sydney Metro - NSW Government

Target Sydney Metro City launch announced

Sydney is set to experience fast, safe, reliable metro trains through the city next month, with the landmark Sydney Metro City project targeting an opening date of August 4.

The launch is subject to the operator successfully completing trial running exercises, system performance tests and obtaining final regulatory approvals.

TfL Publishes the Most Common Station-to-Station Journeys for the National Rail, Elizabeth Line, London Overground, Underground and DLR for 2023

This is a follow-up to my previous article about the most common journeys on the London Underground for the year 2023.

I can reveal that Transport for London (TfL) has published the most common journeys for the other modes, including National Rail (NR), Elizabeth line (EL) and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

I can confirm that we hold the information you require, which is provided in the attached spreadsheet. This provides the total counts for origin destination pairs for all rail journeys we have data for in 2023. Note that these counts are derived from completed journeys where the customer tapped in and out using either an Oyster card or a contactless payment card. Journeys completed using a paper ticket, and incomplete journeys (i.e. where the passenger did not tap in or out for whatever reason) are not captured in the data.

Updates On TfL's Superloop Express Services: Reports About Performance And Reliability

Map of the Superloop express bus services
Image by TfL

In this article, I will go through one item of Transport for London's (TfL) Customer Service and Operational Performance Panel, which is due to be held on 10 July 2024.

List of London Underground Stations That Play Classical Music

Upminster Bridge tube station eastbound platform looking west

It has been revealed in a Freedom of Information request made to Transport for London (TfL), a list of London Underground stations that play classical music.

Request ID: FOI-0875-2425
Date published: 04 July 2024

Please find attached a list of the London Underground stations which are wired for classical music, based on a 2023/2024 survey of stations. Please note that classical music is not necessarily played at all these stations, due to other operational needs or current equipment faults.

London Bus Tender Awards: Route 266 To Use New Double-Deck Electric Buses

Today is Polling Day for the General Election in the United Kingdom. Transport for London (TfL) has announced a London Bus tender award for one route. Route 266, which runs from Brent Cross Shopping Centre to Acton Old Town Hall via Willesden Junction Station, will be using new double-deck electric buses.

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

Fact Check: Disabled And Older People's English Bus Pass (ENCTS) Users Are Valid On London Buses

Last updated - 24th July 2024

A page from the Big Red Book on the ENCTS passes.

In this article, I will mention the use of disabled and older person's English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) passes for bus services in London.

The purpose is to raise awareness that the ENCTS passes, which are issued by the English local authorities throughout England, are valid for travel on London's red buses despite the Electronic Ticket Machine (ETM) not reading them. Instead, the guidances below states that the user can show the ENCTS pass to the driver in London.

Here are the texts from the Transport for London (TfL) website:

London Bus Tender Awards: New Electric Buses For Routes 268 And 287, And New Electric Bus Orders By First Bus And Stagecoach

A screenshot of New Routemaster buses on Google's reCAPTCHA

As we are in July and close to the General Election in the UK, Transport for London (TfL) has announced a new round of London Bus tender awards, which reveal that the three-door, two-staircase hybrid New Routemaster will continue on route 68 and new electric buses will launch on routes 268 and 287.

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

Fact Check: Wheelchair Users ♿ Get Free Travel And Priority On London Buses

Clipping from London Transport News (No. 426 - January 27 1994)
The first of the low-floor wheelchair accessible single-deck buses for London

The purpose of this article is to raise awareness about accessibility for wheelchair users, especially for visitors and residents of London who use public transport occasionally and are not aware of this.

The fact is, wheelchair users can travel on London Buses without paying (touching in with their Oyster, Contactless bank cards, or concessionary pass), even if they don't hold a Freedom Pass or an English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) pass.