1. 1
London’s bus network
Mark O’Donovan
Head of Contracting
Transport for London
June 2013

2. Contents
• Context and Background
• London’s Bus Service Contracting System
• Supplier Market
• Recent Initiatives and Future Challenges

3. TfL travel facts
Every weekday in Greater London:
– 6.5 million journeys are made on London’s buses
– 3.3 million on the underground
– 6.2 million on foot
– 0.6 million by bicycle
– 0.2 million by taxi
– 10.2 million car / motorcycle trips

4. 4
Key Facts – Bus Operations
• Buses operate 24 hours per day,
7 days per week
• 700 + routes (from 1 to 50+ buses)
• 8,600 buses
• 24,000 drivers
• 19,000+ bus stops, 30 bus
stations

5. Usage and service levels
1999/00 2012/13
Passenger
boardings 1296m 2335m (+80%)
Passenger
km 4429m 8082m (+82%)
Bus km
operated 348m 490.5m (+41%)

6. Service volume and usage since 1963
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
1963
1965
1967
1969
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985/86
1987/88
1989/90
1991/92
1993/94
1995/96
1997/98
1999/00
2001/02
2003/04
2005/06
2007/08
2009/10
2011/12
PassengerKilometresperYear(millions)
BusKilometresOperatedperYear(millions)
London bus network: service volume and usage
1963-2012
Bus-km operated (millions) Passenger-km (millions)
Note: new series for passenger-km from 2006/07

7. The London bus system: organisation
The Mayor
Strategy
Chair of TfL Board
Fares
Transport for London
Service planning & contracting.
Monitoring of output and quality.
Consultation & engagement.
Ticketing and AVL infrastructure.
Stops, stands, stations.
Information.
Research & advice.
Private sector contractors
Tender for services.
Run services to TfL standards.
Employ drivers, controllers,
engineers and other operating staff.
Own assets, including
buses and garages.

8. Contracting System

9. What drives customer satisfaction?

10. Introduction of contracting & private operation
Pre-1985 All services directly provided
1985 First routes tendered
(Direct operator competing with private sector)
1985 Deregulation of bus operation in Great Britain, except in
London
1989 Direct operator prepared for privatisation
(Split into smaller companies)
1993 50% of the network tendered
Of which, 40% awarded to the private sector
1994 Privatisation of state-owned companies

11. Contract types
1985 - 2000 Gross Cost
1995 - 1998 Net Cost
2000 - present Quality Incentive
• Five year contracts – possible performance based two-year extension
• Payment based on reliability:
– performance above targets = bonus payments
– performance below targets = deductions

12. Monitoring the Service
• TfL monitors a range of outputs including:
– Mileage and reliability
– Safety, and accidents/incidents
– Driving standards and drivers’ working hours
– Engineering standards and environmental reporting
• Various monitoring tools are used and supported by audit.
Results from Customer Satisfaction Surveys, Mystery
Traveller Surveys and other surveys feed into contract
management.

13. Reliability (Excess Wait Time)
13
lower “Excess Wait” = better reliability

14. The Market and Competition
1995 2013
Cowie
British Bus
Stagecoach
London
Buslines
ThameswayCentreWest
Capital
Citybus
Metrobus
Go-Ahead
London
General
Metroline
MTL
London
United
Other 12
companies
Arriva
Stagecoach
First Group
Go-Ahead
Group
Metroline
Ned
Railways
RATP
Veolia-
Transdev Others

15. Recent initiatives and
future challenges

16. Environmental strategy
16
400 hybrid vehicles
in service by end of
March 2013
Hydrogen bus
introduced
December 2010

17. Better Customer Service
• Nationally-certified
qualification for bus drivers,
including disability-
awareness.
• The ‘Big Red Book’, a
handbook for drivers setting
out expectations and advice
on dealing with difficult
situations.
17

18. Real time information
• “Countdown” at
2500 stops.
• “Next Stop” inside
all buses.
• “Countdown” by
web and text
launched October
2011.

19. Some challenges
19
Manage the impact of
London’s development on
service reliability and cost.
Support population and
employment growth, maintaining
quality of service without
increasing subsidy.
Contribute to the quality of
life in London - regeneration,
air quality, accessibility,
healthcare, education, ......

20. Transforming London’s bus service
Better traffic
management
Real-time
information at
stops / on-line
Simple
information at
the stop
‘Turn up
and go’
services
Simple, affordable
fares
Accessible
vehicles and
stops
Lower
emissions
Reliable and
quicker
services
Drivers trained in
customer care and
equality Effective CCTV and
policing support
Improved
passenger
comfort

21. Overall satisfaction of bus passengers with their journey.
21
75 75 74 75 76 77 78 78 77 79 80 79 80 80 82
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100

22. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
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