A week’s immersion on London’s buses – 104 routes in five days last month – increased even further my admiration for bus drivers and the success of the Oyster card. But there are big improvements to be made.
First, Londoners need flexible bus fares. For many, particularly the low paid and parents dropping off their children on the way to work, changing buses and paying another £1.45 on pay-as-you-go is a serious cost. Tube users can change trains without penalty, and bus users should be able to do so too within a set time, as in Paris and Rome.
Flexible fares would also make the bus system more efficient. Rather than waiting at stops for a direct bus, passengers would hop on and off the buses which get them most quickly to their destination. This would also relieve key ‘loading’ bus stops.
Second, the scandal of Oxford Street as one giant bus park needs to end. London’s high street is a screeching glacier of red metal caused by the sheer number of buses, most of them barely moving in the peak hour and a serious cause of pollution and accidents. In a 10-minute mid-morning walk down Oxford Street I counted 53 buses coming the other way, most of them empty and moving at walking pace. Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, describes bus congestion as ‘the single biggest threat’ to Oxford Street’s future prosperity.
There is no simple solution. Flexible fares would help, enabling more radical options – including terminating more buses before Oxford Street, improved bus routing, and running a fast shuttle service through the West End – to be considered.
A plan is needed, and Boris should be brokering it with Transport for London, Westminster and Camden councils, and representatives of traders, pedestrians and transport users. Instead, nothing changes, and the problem will get worse still when Crossrail brings tens of thousands more to the West End.
Third, there is a capacity crunch on key routes, which can only get worse as London’s population booms. My worst experience of the week was on the number 25 which goes down the Mile End Road from Aldgate to Stratford. ‘Packed like sardines’ does not begin to describe the experience. The only way to make it bearable on the lower deck was to stand near the exit doors, jump off at every stop, and squeeze back on again. But at least I was able to board in the first place.
Route 25 carries 64,000 people a day, equivalent to the population of Crewe, and it cannot cope. Many other routes are just as congested and need more capacity. Empty buses clogging up the West End – and other gridlock hotspots – could be put to better use.
Fourth, poorly managed roadworks, and badly designed junctions and bus lanes, are a constant source of serious delay and unpredictable journey times. On the Mile End Road and through Hackney, my buses could barely move for long stretches because of this. The mayor talks about lane rental and other radical measures, but, again, little has improved since the welcome introduction of red routes.
Six million Londoners use the bus each day, far more than travel on the tube. They need a better deal.
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Andrew Adonis is shadow minister for infrastructure and former secretary of state for transport. He tweets @Andrew_Adonis
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Increase the fares!
It would provide the money for extra capacity going forward and reduce demand to ease congestion now. The £1.45 fare on London’s nationalised buses is already much cheaper than most of the country pays for a worse service in a privatised system.
If Londoners wish to retain their privileged position as highly subsidised luxury travellers they should start by explaining why politicians like Andrew Adonis have for two decades denied that wonderful option to the rest of this country.