I wonder whether the 81 'exception' is due to the fact that Berkshire, alone of all English counties, lost its county status completely after Sir John Banham's report into Local Government Reorganisation in the 1990s, being replaced by unitary authorities such as Slough and Reading, so as long as the 81 was seen to be paying its way it was a case of 'let sleeping dogs lie' as so much is in Blighty.
I seem to recall that Tfl set a maximum limit of 25% for any one company, not sure if this is route mileage, number of routes run or what?
That has been proven to be a myth. (I believe Go Ahead have 26% or something around that at the moment?)
This may have come from the original sale of the parts of London Buses - no one purchaser was allowed to buy companies that operated more than 25%.
There may or may not be an 'official' maximum percentage, but given that the Mayor of London's main responsibility is seen to be public transport. there would be consternation if an operator was thought to be failing, or had overreached themselves, like as happened with Capital Logistics (route 60), London Easylinks (the 185 etc) and Harris Bus, so I personally doubt any one operator would ever be allowed to operate as much as 30% of scheduled mileage in normal circumstances. It would be political madness to risk otherwise, and Sadiq Khan isn't insane.
However TfL may be open to legal challenge if an operator submits a bid and another who submitted a higher bid wins the tender.
It’s nearer 26% by PVR, but I have no idea what proportion is by contract value.
I'm not sure having a 25% percentage ceiling is very meaningful, as the key is how much local competition you have for each bus route tendered, as with bus garages being the main barrier to entry - you can't just easily open a garage in a new part of London, especially as a new garage for one route would be hopelessly uneconomic - it's not as if Stagecoach could ever realistically tender for the 207 or Metroline the 89.
Yes
tfl.gov.uk
That's fairly crap and doesn't look good for Heathrow's attempts to portray itself as being green (especially as it's impossible to walk in and access the airport without paying.Was going to post this in the thread on Heathrow Free Fare zone, (but it is locked)
Free Travel to Heathrow Airport on 423 Bus from Premier Inn Bath Road
Is it true that you don't have to pay on this service for the above journey ? If so what are the mechanics - ie do you just get on or do you have to ask for a ticket tap a card etc?www.railforums.co.uk
The Free Travel zone is discontinued from 12th June, and need to pay for buses as normal
Bus changes
Permanent changes to TfL bus routes including new routes and changes to first and last stops.
The U5 will be operated from a new depot in Dawley Road, Hayes alongside the rest of Hayes (WS) current work, as the lease for the site is due to expire later this year as I understand it.Some recent London tender results (issued 21st May), source:
They are BYD/Enviro 200's
In SE London Go-Ahead’s routes 132 and 358 had been re-awarded for electric buses. The 132 will get BYD/ADL E400EVs and the 358 is expected to use Irizar IeTram single-decks. In both cases, re-charging will be by overhead pantographs, the 132 only at Bexleyheath Garage, the 358 at each end of the route at Crystal Palace and Orpington Station – although that at Orpington is still subject to planning approval.
Now that's interesting - a reintroduction of the trolleybus!
Observations showed many customers (usually Airport Workers) boarding for free within the Free Fare Zone but continuing beyond the zone boundary without any attempt to touch in and pay for that portion.
So honest travellers will be penalised rather than any enforcement against fraudulent travel?
It's £1.55 to travel. Not exactly the end of the world.
I didn't claim it was the end of the world.
But, why should it be free? It also stops people who do not need to be at the airport from being at the airport.
This was Heathrow proving its green credentials.
