London Bus Tender Awards: New Electric Buses for Routes 184, 217, 484, and 496

Transport for London (TfL) has announced the latest bus contract details, with a focus on the introduction of electric buses. Routes 184, 217, 484, and 496 will transition to electric buses, featuring a combination of new and existing electric single and double-deck vehicles.

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

Reimagining the Silvertown Tunnel: A Case for Tram Integration

Map of the Silvertown Tunnel
Image - Transport for London (TfL)

This article follows up on my previous suggestion to explore the conversion of bus lanes and priority measures for tram use. It's important to remember that bus lanes and priority schemes aren't solely for buses; they also play a crucial role in enabling emergency services to improve their response times and potentially save lives by avoiding heavy traffic congestion.

London Bus Tender Awards: New Electric Buses for Routes 174 and 674

As we are in the middle of April 2025, the recent London Bus Tender Awards have revealed that Stagecoach has retained route 174 with new electric double-deck buses. This means the existing electric buses from routes 173 and 174 will cascade to other routes, helping to increase the number of zero-emission bus services.

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

Route 122
Retained by: Stagecoach Selkent
PVR: 19
Vehicles: Existing hybrid double deck
Contract Start Date: 7th February 2026
Contract End Date: 9th February 2029

Freedom of Information Request to TfL Reveals Designs and Costs of Vinyl Coverings for Elizabeth Line Station Platform Seats

Design of vinyl sticker covering for Liverpool Street station
© TfL

Transport for London (TfL) has introduced an initiative to address the issue of ‘ghost marks’ or ‘shadows’ appearing on the walls behind seating areas at the central tunnel stations of the Elizabeth Line. These marks, which occur over time from passengers leaning against the walls, contribute to damage to the paintwork. In response, TfL is trialing vinyl sticker designs to help address the issue.

London Bus Tender Awards: New Routemasters to Continue on Route 3, New Electric Buses for Routes 173/673, 292, 675, B12, and B15

Transport for London (TfL) has announced in the London Bus Tender Awards that route 3 will continue to use hybrid New Routemasters with three doors and two staircases. Routes 173/673, 292, 675, B12, and B15 will use new electric buses.

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

London Bus Tender Awards: Existing Single-Deck Diesel Buses to Continue on Routes 246, 352, 354, 356, and K2.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced in a London Bus Tender Awards that routes 246, 352, 354, 356, and K2 will continue to use existing single-deck diesel buses as part of the contract renewal.

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

Transport for London Quietly Withdraws the Paper 'One Day Bus & Tram Pass'

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:

London Bus Tender Awards: Go-Ahead London Central Retains Route 12 with New Routemasters, and Route S1 to Use New Electric Single-Deck Buses

Transport for London (TfL) has announced in the London Bus tender awards that the three-door, two-staircase hybrid New Routemasters will continue to operate on Route 12, and Transport UK London has won Route S1 with new single-deck electric buses.

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

Transport for London Publishes Most Common Station-to-Station Tube, Overground, DLR, and Elizabeth Line Journeys for 2024

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:

Transport for London Reveals the Fate of Two Missing New Routemaster Buses

A photo of LT174

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Transport for London (TfL) has revealed that two three-door, two-staircase hybrid New Routemasters (NRMs), designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by Wrightbus, have been missing from the bus fleet.

The person submitting the FOI request referred to a previous FOI response which included the following text:

"Of the total fleet, TfL own the 998 New Routemasters and 20 Hydrogen vehicles."

Let’s take a look at the questions and answers from TfL.