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.

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.

Why TfL Withdrew Heritage AEC Routemasters by Axing Route 15H - Can I Still Ride Them in London?

This is a follow up to my previous article in which Transport for London (TfL) revealed in a Freedom of Information request the withdrawal of the last heritage Route 15H served with AEC Routemasters.

This article shows the Freedom of Information responses by TfL and the Greater London Authority - also the Mayor’s answers on why the last AEC Routemasters have been withdrawn by not renewing the contract for Route 15H last year (2020).

 

Let’s take a look at the Freedom of Information request to TfL and how they responded on 6 May 2021 with regards to the withdrawal of Route 15H.

 

TfL Ref: 0088-2022

06 May 2021

 

Some of your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked:

 

The following question have been answered under the FOIA -

 

2, How much did TfL pay to refurbish the AEC Routemasters for route 15H?

Route 67 converts to New Routemaster operation as part of Central London bus route changes

We have recently seen London bus service changes which occurred on 15th June 2019. The changes affected routes 3, 4, 9/N9, 14, 35, 40, 45, 46, 53, 59, 67, 76, 100, 134, 149, 171, 172, 205/N205, 242, 341, 343, 388, 468, 476 and RV1. You can read more on the Central London bus route changes on the TfL website.

A small number of the routes are served with New Routemaster buses and were affected. This has enabled a number of New Routemaster buses to serve another route which is route 67.

Strong backing for the Holborn Tube Station upgrades

In their consultation, Tfl reports that 98% of the respondents agreed with the need to upgrade Holborn Station.

From TfL press release

TfL has announced today (Thursday 5 July) that proposals to substantially boost the capacity of Holborn Tube station have received strong backing from the public and local community.

New London Sightseeing service provided by Stagecoach

Stagecoach, who owns Megabus, launches an open-top sightseeing bus service for Central London.

From Megabus

Our non-stop London bus tour will take you to 50 of London’s most famous sights in the space of just 2 hours. All you need to do is sit back, relax, and soak up the sights of this incredible capital city from the comfort of the top deck…

Big Ben. The Houses of Parliament. London Bridge. They’re just 3 of around 50 world-famous landmarks on the agenda when you book tickets with megasightseeing.com – our brand new open top London sightseeing bus tour.

From April 2018, you’ll be able to get onboard one of our open top double decker buses in central London every day of the week, every hour between 10:00 and 17:00. And you can start your tour from three locations: the London Eye, Tower of London and Park Lane.

Citymapper to start operating a night bus service

Citymapper has applied for a London Service Permit to operate a night service, serving from Highbury & Islington station to Aldgate East Station. The route is quite short compared to London Buses who provide 52 night routes along with 72 daytime routes which operate 24 hours a day.

2017 London tour bus prices

This is an update to my previous article titled ‘2016 London Tour Bus Prices’.

The purpose of this article is to compare the prices of open top tour bus companies which serve Central London - so here’s the table below.

TfL invests £18 million for the electric vehicle scheme

We are close to seeing the iconic London taxi going full electric as TfL plan to set up a scheme enabling drivers to switch their fossil fuel vehicle over to a zero-emission electric vehicle.

From TfL press release
 

• Dedicated points for taxis to help iconic black cabs go green
• Plans will encourage drivers to ditch the most polluting vehicles and go electric to help clean up London's filthy air
• Customer friendly scheme means drivers can pay as they go using a credit or debit card, without having to sign up to membership
• Transport for London (TfL) has appointed the suppliers who will provide the rapid charging points that the capital needs to make it easier than ever before to use electric vehicles. After a competitive bidding process, the Centrica Consortium, BluepointLondon, Chargemaster, Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and Fastned were successful. They will fund, maintain, operate and install the network.

Consultation for Oxford Street

Recently, TfL has opened up a consultation on improving Oxford Street to create a more ‘pedestrian friendly’ environment.

From TfL Consultations

Overview

"Oxford Street is one of the best known shopping destinations in the world. Around half a million people visit or work in the street and surrounding area every day and thousands of people and families live close by.

Oxford Street is already very busy and growth in London’s population and economy will bring even more people to the area.

There are lots of issues. Pedestrian spaces can get crowded. We recognise there is a road safety problem and air quality in the area is poor. Significant congestion delays passengers using buses and taxis.

Central London bus route changes confirmed by TfL

Recently, TfL has confirmed changes for the bus routes serving Central London after 3,415 stakeholders responded to the consultation.

From TfL press release

40 per cent fewer buses will run on Oxford Street, supporting Europe's busiest shopping district. The reliability of the bus network in central London is set to be improved, cutting congestion and helping tackle air pollution, as Transport for London (TfL) today confirmed that it will implement a range of changes to bus routes.

10 million London Bus journeys made with the new ‘hopper fare’

The Hopper Fare was launched on 12^th September 2016 and has enjoyed great success with more than 10 million journeys being made so far. TFL and the London Mayor’s office have now unveiled their top 20 ‘hopper’ fare routes.

London Mayor launches the new electric buses on Red Arrow routes 507 & 521

So the launch now officially begins for the Alexander Dennis Envrio200 MMC BYD eBus to enter service on Red Arrow Routes 507 and 521.

From Greater London Authority

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London (TfL) have announced that the capital will own Europe’s largest fleet of electric buses, as they revealed the first two all-electric bus routes for central London.

The Mayor announced that routes 507 and 521 will exclusively run a 51-strong fleet of all-electric buses by the end of the year, as part of his ambitious campaign for a dramatic improvement in of air quality in the capital. Combined with 22 all-electric buses already running in outer London, it will take the capital’s entire fleet of electric buses up to 73 – the largest in Europe.

Photos of Bendy Buses in London

Taking a trip down memory lane to the decade of the 2000’s, twelve London Bus routes operated with articulated buses. The type of articulated bus was the Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro G artic.

The photographs are taken from Wikimedia Commons.

London Buses route 12

Go Ahead London Central MAL91 BX54UDZ

By oyxman - Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2141681

Operated from 06th November 2004 till 05th November 2011

2016 London Tour bus prices

As we are now in the summer, I've published the chart below showing you the 2016 update of the comparison of the Tour bus companies operating in London.

Update on hybrid bus conversions

As the London hybrid bus fleet is increasing, I will update you with the next route conversions to hybrid buses.

Here’s the table of hybrid bus conversions; I collected the information from London Bus Routes service changes page.

VOSA recalls 468 New Routemasters

This just in, VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) has just recalled 468 New Routemaster buses which were built between 1st March 2012 - 9th September 2015.

New Escalator etiquette at Holborn Station

Escalators in Holborn Station

So we can see that London Underground is trialling new etiquette rules for the escalator going up at Holborn station.

From TFL Press Release

LONDON UNDERGROUND TO PILOT NEW ESCALATOR ARRANGEMENT AT HOLBORN TUBE STATION

One of four escalators will be 'standing only' at all times for six months with another standing only at some times of day.

Customers at Holborn station will be asked to stand on both sides of two 'up' escalators, in plans announced today to reduce congestion at the station.

From 18 April the new arrangements will be in place for around six months, with a range of signage and customer information encouraging people to fill up the escalators by standing on both sides. The other 'up' escalator will still be available for people who want to walk.

2 New Electric buses for London

Irizar and Go-Ahead, London’s biggest bus operator, have signed an agreement for two Irizar i2e electric buses to be put into operation in London from the end of July.

I am unable to copy the text from the press release from Irizar because the PDF file is from images instead of text, so you can view it here.

From Route One magazine:

By placing electric buses in the UK, Irizar not only shows its “capacity for adapting to the needs of markets and operators” but also “reaffirms its intention of positioning

London Buses were on the verge of being deregulated

During the early 1990’s, London bus services were being privatised, and came close to be

deregulated by the government.

What privatisation means:  London Buses was split into 12 business units, in preparation for sell-off. In late 1994 the separate London Buses' business units were sold off to private ownership which also meant that the routes were tendered off to private operating companies to operate under a concession for London Transport.

What deregulation means: the power to create and maintain