Taking a Cue from London's Bus System
December 19, 2012
Think of the defining features of London, and public transportation likely looms large: The London Underground, the trademark black taxi cabs, the iconic red double-decker buses. More recently, London has been at the vanguard of transportation policy with its congestion pricing scheme. And this summer’s Olympics showcased a whole new face of the city: East London, an underdeveloped area that was completely transformed by the games as London continues to benefit from the “Olympic Legacy.”
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Bus stop and bus in Bloomsbury Square[/caption]
ABC’s Planning Director Tom Nally just returned from a fact-finding trip to the city on the Thames. He and our consultant from VHB were there to learn about how London operates its massive fleet of buses to peak efficiency, helping to move buses more swiftly through congested streets and intersections. The stats on London’s bus service are truly staggering. Every day, 6.5 million riders – nearly half of Metro London’s population – hop on a fleet of 8600 buses, piloted by some 24,000 drivers and serving 19,000 bus stops and 30 major stations over some 500 route-miles. Seventy-one percent of bus stops have shelters; 2500 have countdown signs displaying real-time, GPS-based data, and the arrival time of all buses can be displayed on smart phones.
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Hydrogen fueled bus[/caption]
Fares and service plans are set by Transport for London, the mayoral office that oversees all of the city’s roads and transit from a massive operations center with a staff of 200. But the buses themselves are owned and operated by private companies. Public-private operating contracts like these are more common in Europe than in America, but they’re catching on here.
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Local bus stop in Leyton[/caption]
Even though the buses are privately owned, Transport for London retains considerable control over the fleet, which has allowed them to experiment with a variety of greener vehicles: clean diesel-electric hybrids, hydrogen fuel cells, even biodiesel. There’s even a double-decker hybrid prototype, the “New Bus for London,” that will be hitting the London streets soon as London works to meet European standards for air quality and reduction of greenhouse gases.
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London buses at Oxford Circus[/caption]
Our hope is that we can take some lessons from London’s bus operations and green fleet and apply them here in Boston. By investing in new vehicles and smart technologies like optimizing traffic lights to prioritize buses, we hope to make bus transit in Boston more faster, cleaner and greener.
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London buses on Oxford Street[/caption]
