LONDON BUS CUTS: CAN TFL BE MORE FLEXIBLE?

​20 November 2021
ABOVE: RATP London BCE 47105 (LG71 DVC), a BYD D8UR-DD ADL Enviro400EV, is picking up at Harrow Bus Station, at the start of another Limited Stop run on route X140 to Heathrow Airport, on Bank Holiday Monday 3rd January 2022.

We have already seen some fairly significant frequency cuts to some London bus services, and it sounds as though there are more to come.

There is a good amount of political posturing in Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ‘warning’ on Thursday that, without Government funding, London bus services could be cut by 20%. But whilst I expect some common-sense to prevail, it is probably naïve to think that the bus network as it is now will survive completely unscathed.

Many central London bus routes have already seen significant cuts that have made them less attractive. I used to be a regular on the 148 (White City to Camberwell Green). Pre-pandemic, buses were very busy in the morning rush hour on an eight-minute frequency, and often too full in the evening peak for me to get a seat.

Now the frequency is down to every 10 minutes. Buses seem to be coping at the moment but what happens when more people start to return to their offices, probably in the New Year?

There are numerous other routes in the capital for which reductions have been applied, and some of these, such as for the 7 (East Acton to Oxford Circus) and the 507 (Victoria to Waterloo), have been severe.

I can see the reason for short-term reductions, but we are not yet at the end state of the ‘new-normal’ (hate that phrase!). If demand starts to exceed the reduced level of supply, can services be restored to previous levels? The answer to that, sadly, is no.

The problem is that TfL is, in my experience, a rigid and bureaucratic organisation. It does not seem able to react quickly to changing circumstances and cannot easily make or reverse changes.

I do understand – contracts have to be re-opened and changes have to be negotiated. Much easier to just wait for the next renewal. But TfL needs to become flexible enough to be able to implement changes quickly where necessary. A lot can happen during the life of a seven-year contract.

I know it’s easy for me to sit on the outside and opine, but I do believe that there is waste on a daily basis on the network. I have some ‘armchair’ thoughts on things that could be done to save some small sums (and, as we know, looking after the pennies makes the pounds look after themselves)! I will set these thoughts out in a future post.
​