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Repowered New Routemaster LT11 |
This is a follow-up to my article from last year regarding the New Routemasters being phased out in favour of new zero-emission buses in the near future.
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Repowered New Routemaster LT11 |
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XRM model bus design It suggests a livery that is partly red and partly unpainted aluminium. |
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TfL Image |
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Photo by Arriva Group |
The London Bus Tender Awards, announced by Transport for London (TfL), have revealed that the three-door, two-staircase hybrid New Routemasters will continue to operate on route 453.
LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:
Route 385
Retained by: Stagecoach East London
PVR: 1
Vehicles: Existing diesel single deck
Contract Start Date: 18th October 2025
Contract End Date: 20th October 2028
In this article, I will highlight key details from the UK Government’s HM Treasury Spending Review 2025, with a particular focus on public transport. While the broader review includes major commitments to the National Health Service (NHS), this piece will concentrate on the financial commitments and policy direction for transport infrastructure.
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Bakerloop BL1 Bus - TfL Image |
This article follows on from my previous article, 'Exploring the Challenges and Considerations of Buses with Two Wheelchair Spaces And Buses of Longer Size', where I stated:
"This would allow TfL and organisations representing older and disabled people to evaluate different features used in buses across various cities and trial them in passenger service. It would also provide an opportunity to gather feedback from individuals and stakeholders."
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Route 205 leaflet from 2002 - © TfL |
As we are in the middle of May 2025, the recent London Bus tender awards have revealed that Transport UK London has won the route 493 contract, with new single-deck electric buses for Transport for London (TfL).
LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:
Last updated: 2nd August 2025
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Map of the Silvertown Tunnel Image - Transport for London (TfL) |
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Design of vinyl sticker covering for Liverpool Street station © TfL |
Last updated - 6th June 2025:
It has been revealed in the Staff Guide to Fares and Ticketing, March 2025, that Transport for London (TfL) has discontinued the sale of the paper One Day Bus & Tram Pass at Tube, DLR, Tram, and railway stations. This decision impacts people who are digitally excluded, as they will now have to buy the pass at Oyster Ticket Shops.
The text in the document Staff Guide 2 - Types of Tickets and Ways to Pay - Updated: March 2025 states:
Transport for London (TfL) reveals from a Freedom of Information request the most common journeys for the London Underground (LU) for the year 2024.
This is a follow-up to my previous articles from last year, where I listed the most common station-to-station journeys for National Rail, the Elizabeth Line, London Overground, the Underground, and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) for 2023.
The table lists the most frequent journeys on the Transport for London network in 2024, showing the origin station, destination station, and number of trips. The busiest route is between Bank and Waterloo LU, with over 1.2 million trips. Other popular routes include Liverpool Street to Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Circus to Victoria LU, and Canary Wharf to London Bridge LU, each with over 900,000 trips. Some routes, like London Bridge NR to Not Applicable, also see significant traffic. I’m not sure why TfL has listed 'Not Applicable' as a station in the spreadsheet, but I assume it could indicate a missing touch by a passenger when using their Oyster or contactless bank card to travel from their origin or destination station. The list features key lines across the Tube, Overground, DLR, and Elizabeth Line.
The top 20 most common journeys are as follows:
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A photo of LT174 |
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Drawings of the Bakerloop BL1 Bus - TfL Image |
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Alexander Dennis Enviro100EV and Enviro400EV Image by Alexander Dennis |
Transport for London (TfL) has announced in the London Bus Tender awards that four routes in Havering have been retained by Stagecoach London, with brand new double-deck electric buses.
LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:
Route 165
Retained by: Stagecoach East London
Peak Vehicle Requirement (PVR): 13
Vehicles: New electric double deck
Contract Start Date: 27th September 2025
Contract End Date: 24th September 2032
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The open platform of various double-deck buses |
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Map of the proposed Bakerloop BL1 - TfL Image |
BL1 – Proposed express bus route between Waterloo and Lewisham town centre#TfL has launched a consultation on the ‘Bakerloop’ express bus, linking areas from Waterloo to Lewisham via Elephant & Castle. The new route, building on the #Superloop, aims to improve travel in south-east #London. Feedback is open until 14 March 2025. tfl-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/bakerlo...
— CLondoner92 (@clondoner92.bsky.social) January 31, 2025 at 4:20 PM
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TfL Image - TfL 25 Roundel |
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Silhouette of the New Routemaster and Irizar ie tram |
This is a follow-up to my previous article from last year, where I gathered information from Transport for London’s consultation reports and highlighted the requests for zero-emission New Routemaster (NRM) and tram-style buses.
Let’s take a look at the 2024 consultation reports I have researched:
Here’s another round of London Bus Tender Awards for January 2025, which shows that Transport for London and London Sovereign have retained routes 285 and 326.
LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:
Transport for London (TfL) has announced yesterday (14th January) the first round of London Bus Tender awards for the New Year (2025), with three bus routes set to continue using single-deck buses until the end of 2028.
LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:
Route 318
Current Operator: Arriva London North
New Operator: Go-Ahead London General
PVR: 9
Vehicles: Existing diesel single deck
Contract Start Date: 8th November 2025
Contract End Date: 10th November 2028
I will be reviewing various Freedom of Information (FOI) requests that have been responded to and published by Transport for London (TfL), particularly in relation to the current situation involving the Central Line Improvement Programme (CLIP) and the new 2024 Tube Stock for the London Underground Piccadilly Line.
Actual off-peak Oyster times
Request ID: FOI-3161-2425
Date published: 14 January 2025
Update - 14th January 2025: The live Tube and London Bus maps has been reinstated.
Matthew Somerville has stated:
"TfL have apologised for the way that their “online brand protection agency” handled this and their approach to my hosting provider, and will be discussing matters with them. Given that, and the numerous emails I have been receiving from people missing the maps, I’m happy to reinstate them."
He also stated on BlueSky:
"I have removed the schematic map, which was the only actual issue. My issue was with their outsourced badly written threat. We got to the point where we agreed their outsourced agency was either lying or wrong, and their templates are not clear. So I can hope something might come out of that, but 🤷"
Original article continues below:
Recently, during this week, the live London Underground Tube and Bus maps were removed from the website run by Matthew Somerville. It was popular, having received press coverage from the BBC, The Guardian, etc. Bear in mind, I don't wish to get involved in any internet dramas or disputes; the purpose is to raise awareness of this issue.
Unfortunately, he replaced it with a webpage explaining why the removal occurred. He said:
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Volvo BZL Double-Deck For The Bee Network - Photo by TfGM |