London Bus Tender Awards: New Electric Buses for Route 166

Another day of London Bus Tender Awards announcements by Transport for London (TfL) shows that Route 166 will be served using 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: New Electric Buses for Routes 95 and 491

As we approach Christmas and the end of the year, the recent London Bus Tender awards have announced that routes 95 and 491 will use new single-deck electric buses, while hybrid New Routemasters will continue to operate on route 67.

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

Highlights of the Freedom of Information Requests Published by TfL: New Bus Vehicle Specification, Routes Using Single-Door Buses, and More

I will be reviewing various Freedom of Information (FOI) requests on the Transport for London (TfL) website, focusing particularly on information I found about London's buses.

Request for New London Bus Vehicle Specifications - Version 2.6 and Later Versions

Request ID: FOI-2818-2425
Date published: 11 December 2024

Mayor Announces 2025 TfL Fares Package: London Bus and Tram Fares Frozen, Tube and Rail Fares to Rise by 4.6%

A mix of good and bad news.

The good news is that London bus and tram fares will remain frozen in 2025, while the bad news is that Tube and rail fares will rise by 4.6%, in line with the National Rail fare increase.

From Greater London Authority

Mayor announces TfL fares package for 2025, with a freeze to bus and tram fares

Arriva London to Surrender Routes 149 & 248 Early Due to Financial Challenges, Retendering Set for 2025

It has been reported by @ediz1975 on X (formerly Twitter) that the bus operating company Arriva London has announced they will surrender routes 149 and 248 two years earlier than the original end date.

In the summer of 2024, independent bus company Sullivan Buses ceased operating all of Transport for London's (TfL) routes due to a financial dispute, and the routes were retendered to different bus operating companies.

Investigating Why the New Routemaster Isn't a Half-Cab with a Permanent Open Platform, as Some Expected

Last updated: 11th July 2026

I will be exploring through the Mayor’s Question Time, Transport for London (TfL) documents, etc. on how and why the New Routemaster (also known as the New Bus for London) was designed as a three-door, two-staircase hybrid bus instead of a half-cab and permanent open platform bus.

Let’s start off on how the concept of the New Routemaster all started.

The Proposed Successors to the AEC Routemaster Before the Three-Door, Two-Staircase Hybrid New Routemaster Bus

This article explores the development of various proposed successors to the AEC Routemaster throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, before the Conservative Party candidate Boris Johnson proposed the New Routemaster during his 2008 London Mayoral Election.

XRM (Experimental Routemaster)

The front-entrance AEC Routemaster’s (FRM1) launch in December 1966 was met with a sense of pessimism. It was quickly seen as outdated, even before it entered production, and there were growing arguments against London Transport (LT) continuing to design its own vehicles. The introduction of the New Bus Grant scheme, which provided generous subsidies for off-the-shelf vehicles, further weakened the case for bespoke bus designs. This shift towards ready-made models led to the failure of several new bus types, such as the Merlins, Swifts, and Fleetlines, which were plagued by high maintenance costs. Despite this, there remained a strong belief that only London Transport could design buses suited to the city's needs, which resulted in a bias against new models before they had been tested.

Exploring TfL’s FOI Responses: Modifications to the New Routemaster Buses

Drawing of the New Routemaster

In this article, I will be going through a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests published on the Transport for London (TfL) website regarding modifications to the New Routemaster buses, including changes to doors and windows.

Request ID: FOI-1630-2425
Date published: 10 September 2024

Key Insights from TfL's Freedom of Information Requests: Electric Buses, New Piccadilly Line Announcements, and Single Justice Procedure Prosecutions

Below are the key insights from Transport for London's (TfL) Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, which I found on their website.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Request ID: FOI-2649-2425
Date published: 02 December 2024

Electric Buses

Question: It has come to my attention that only a handful of Electric buses last on routes 24/7 without using Diesel or Hybrid vehicles to cover. What action will be taken to ensure that Electric buses are able to remain on routes throughout the day and night?

Key Insights from London Mayor's Question Time - 26 November 2024: Bus Improvements, Future Superloop Options, Driverless Tube Trains, and Major Transport Projects

As we enter the final month of the year (December 2024), I’ve been reviewing the answers from the London Mayor's Question Time held on 21 November 2024. There’s a wealth of interesting information about upcoming improvements to London buses and the Underground, including plans for driverless trains.

Bus lanes and bus journey times
Reference: 2024/3971
Date: Tuesday 26 November 2024