LT1

The media pursues Boris Johnson as he takes a short walk
as LT1 pauses on Westminster Bridge for a special photo

Today was the day that LT1, the first passenger-ready prototype New Bus for London, was launched in Trafalgar Square.

LT1 was delivered from Wrights' Ballymena factory on Tuesday. It ventured out for some radio testing earlier this week but at 0630 this morning it was parked, in the dark, outside City Hall. From 0700 LBC's Nick Ferrari broadcast his morning show from it, interviewing a number of key people including the Mayor.

As Nick's show ended at 1000 LBC's team swiftly removed all of the broadcast equipment and handed the bus back. It was promptly manoeuvred so a position where now, in daylight, it could be seen against Tower Bridge.

At this point the Mayor, Boris Johnson, announced he wanted to drive it again (he did so in Ballymena a few weeks ago). So within the precincts of Potters Field he moved it down to Tooley Street. He was keen to take it on the road but was persuaded otherwise.

So he handed it to me and I took it from City Hall, via Tooley Street and Stamford Street to Westminster Bridge. Three of my elite team of Metropolitan Police motorcyclists from the Safer Transport Command based with TfL escorted us.

Here we had arranged a particular photograph with the Houses of Parliament in the background. Photographs done I handed the bus in turn to Commissioner Peter Hendy who took it via Whitehall and onto Trafalgar Square where the main media were waiting.

From then on it was a constant stream of media interviews and demonstrations of the features of the bus.

I had warned people not to read too much into the registration shown at the Ballymena event recently. LT1 has its own "LT61"registration which will grace the further seven prototypes as well.

As those who have seen will know, the bus is built to an exciting modern design but with many acknowledgements to the Routemaster. The maroon interior, Indian Red wheels, Treadmaster flooring and shallow windows all offer a nod to the last bus specifically designed for London.

After that it is bristling with new features - it is basically an electric bus with a small engine to extend its range. (Several times during my journey was the engine off entirely whilst we ran on battery power).

And down to the smallest detail, its bell pushes are wireless so the miles of wiring associated with multiple hand pole buttons are eliminated.

The bus handles beautifully. It has an excellent turning circle, there are no rattles or similar noises, and accelerates and brakes very smoothly. The tight exit from City Hall onto a narrowed-by-roadworks Tooley Street was easily done.

We have already announced that from 20th February the first couple of LTs will enter service on route 38, operated by Arriva. Crew operation with full open boarding will be provided during the day. It will run on a conventional signal person operation basis at other times. The remaining vehicles will progressively join this group and all will be in use by Spring.

We already know from testing that the bus is delivering better fuel efficiency and lower emissions than expected. These new vehicles will make a positive contribution to London's bus fleet and although no fare paying passengers have yet been carried, the hundreds of visitors today at Trafalgar Square were almost completely positive in their reaction.

From inside LT1 The Mayor talks to a huge group
of media all anxious to learn more. 

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UK Bus Awards

Photo from Mark Howarth of
Western Greyhound.
I know since he posted it on Facebook
he won't mind me using it here!

Yesterday was the UK Bus Awards - its 16th year and I have been to all of them. How it has grown since it was a small event in the City of London to now a full house in the Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane.

For the first time in many years Stephanie Flanders (daughter of one of my personal heroes Michael) and news anchor for BBC's Newsnight was unable to be the compare since it was of course a highly charged political day. Jane Hill, also from BBC News, took her place.

Minister for Transport Norman Baker was able to announce new initiatives for air quality improvements in London with TfL and another £30m Green Bus funding to continue to promote hybrid vehicles.

Former Minister Gillian Merron, now Chairman of Bus Users UK handed out the prizes and I was privileged to announce the winners for London Bus Garage of the Year (First's Lea Interchange) and be part of the Luke Rees-Pulley Award for the Top London Bus driver, Gary Jones from London United at Fulwell.

The UK Bus Awards celebrates success and the achievements of individuals and companies. The judges had some difficult choices to make. As usual Trent Barton were up there with the winners and Roger French of Brighton and Hove was rightly given the award for services to the bus industry.

A great event and by the time we are together again next year, the Olympics will have come and gone!

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New Bus for London

Mayor Boris Johnson drives the first NBfL prototype
bus out of the factory

Today in Ballymena, Co Antrim, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson drove the first finished prototype of the New Bus for London off the production line and showed it off to the assembled media.

Work on this vehicle had been at full speed to achieve completion. The finished article was well worth the effort and everyone commented on the exceptional high quality, attention to detail, and extremely good environmental benefits of this new vehicle.

The Engineering Test vehicle has already amassed several thousand miles at Millbrook Testing Ground. We know its fuel consumption is better than predicted and its emissions rather lower. These results are hugely encouraging.

Detractors accuse the Mayor of a vanity project but in many cases they are the same people who caused TfL and its predecessors to acquire more standard vehicles which when subjected to London conditions cost significant sums of public money in engineering downtime and premature retirement.

The design will always be a matter of taste. What is certain is that the high quality of the build and great attention to detail. What will matter is that the passengers find this vehicle attractive and comfortable, and the operators find it economic to use. So far most people who have seen it are hugely impressed by its looks and ease of use.

So important was today's event that it was attended by many stakeholders including, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, MPs, MLAs, and the national press.

A video clip of the bus emerging from the factory is as http://youtu.be/gk_2jEtaf9U

What next? The bus will be in London during December. There will be a launch marking its arrival here in Central London. After that after further trials, formalities and training, it will enter service with Arriva in the New Year. The other seven prototypes, all in build at Wrights, will join it progressively during the first few months of 2012.

Yes I did get to drive it and as was the case with the Millbrook vehicle earlier this year it has a superb turning circle, is quiet, positive, and a very pleasurable driving experience. As a passenger the moquette seats are more traditional, comfortable and easy to use. The new wireless bell pushes mean we can have more of them and save miles of wiring down every hand pole. Inside the use of maroon and Treadmaster flooring are more than a nod to the Routemaster which, despite the media's insistence, it is not designed to replace!

So not long now until the first vehicle arrives in London, and Londoners see it for the first time for real. I think you will like it!

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Piccadilly two-way

The return of two way traffic to Piccadilly after over 40 years marks the end of an extraordinary effort by Westminster City Council, Crown Estates and Transport for London to return the 1960s one-way systems to proper streets for people to use.

The dramatic increase in private vehicles in what is now Greater London gave rise to the Road Traffic and Road Improvements Act 1960. Parking Meters and Traffic Wardens were the first manifestation of the new law. It also paved the way for the London Traffic Management Unit whose sole job was to speed up traffic. An interesting predecessor to TfL's current role in smoothing traffic flow.

The newly-formed Greater London Council soon endorsed a series of what were called Traffic Management Schemes. In essence they were a major one-way systems often using parallel residential roads. Aldgate, Tottenham Court Road, Earls Court, Kings Cross, London Bridge and Victoria's schemes all were introduced by the end of 1965. There were similar schemes in the suburbs - Richmond, Hackney, Holloway all followed suit.

Nominally as a week's experiment westbound traffic in Piccadilly was diverted to St James' St and Pall Mall from 15th July 1961 and was introduced permanently (until 23rd October 2011) from 26th November.

Needless to say the improved road capacity driven from the one-way systems and on-street parking restrictions did speed up traffic but that simply encouraged the growth to increase further. Average speeds fell again over time and meanwhile more and more of the multi-lane one-way roads became 'urban motorways' which were damaging to business, pedestrians and took bus services away from their ideal destinations.

Now such schemes are being removed and the flagship West End one is now complete. Earlier this year St James' St and Pall Mall were converted to two-way working and now, in a £14m scheme, Piccadilly itself reopened to all westbound traffic (buses have had their own contra-flow lane since the 1970s).

Now the streets in this part of London look normal again. Wide pavements, no railings, high quality materials and space for people to walk and cycle as well as use the road network.

There is a formal launch on this week with a collection of 1960s vehicles including one rather well-known Routemaster!! Watch this space!

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Countdown II

On Monday 17th October we launch to the public the full real time information service for bus users. This has been under test for several weeks and the test site address has already spread.

But from Monday it will work from http://www.tfl.gov.uk/buses. Much more usefully smartphone users will be taken directly to the new mobile site which is configured for easy reading on such devices.

The new service provides real time information for all 19,000 bus stops on the network. It's like have Countdown in your hand. You can access it on-line, on your phone, and by text by sending the bus stop code to 87287. The SMS text service costs 12p per call - all the on-line information is free.

Already clever people are developing Applications which provide the information and at least one of them is already in the Top Ten of paid-for Applications. This demonstrates how popular the information will be. I am sure there will be many more.

It is better than a Countdown sign which you can only see at the stop. In future you will be able to stay at home, work, or other venue until it is time to walk to your stop. For some people this will bring added security as they will not be waiting at the bus stop for too long. In other cases I foresee, for example, parents being able to predict the arrival times of their children at stops and being able to meet them off the bus.

And we would never have been able to fit Countdown signs at all the stops. We are adding another signs at 500 locations and renewing the entire network of signs. But the cost of doing so in many areas was prohibitive, yet to some, information where the frequencies are lower is actually more important. At a stroke this overcomes the problem of providing information in such places.

I predict that this development which make a big change to the way in which people plan their journeys and use the bus network. Certainly those who have been trying it out already have already indicated just how valuable it is.


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East London line phase 2

I am still catching up so here is another story from last weekend.

On Friday 7th October I did a whistlestop tour around various railway developments and amongst them the progress being made to connect the East London Line south of Surrey Quays so it can connect to Clapham Junction and thus create an orbital railway around London.

This link will be ready in Spring 2012 and follows an old railway alignment which closed in 1911 between Rotherhithe and Peckham. It threads its way through an area alongside Millwall Football Club, between businesses and homes to make this 1.5m connection.

Work was proceeding at a great speed and the day I was there was immediately prior to the arrival of the bridge to span Surrey Canal Road which was at that moment on the motorway being escorted to London.

Above therefore is perhaps the last picture of the site prior to the arrival of the bridge which went into place over the weekend.

The East London Line is growing at a remarkable rate. Dating back to 1869 this quiet backwater of the London Underground was to some extent neglected and unloved. It had a thorough refurbishment in the mid 1990s only to have a complete upgrade as part of a bigger and better Overground and opening again in 2011 after a three year upgrade to Network Rail standards. Now connected to the North London Line it provided new links across north east inner London.

With the new section opened next year the missing link will allow further orbital journeys to give relief to hard-pressed main line stations including London Bridge.

The new bridge being lifted into position

......

Show Time

This is the start of some catch-ups - sorry for so little activity recently.

It is show season with the American Passenger Transportation Association event in New Orleans and Coach & Bus Live at NEC Birmingham both this week and only 12 days before Busworld at Kortrijt.

These events very much demonstrate the temperature of the industry's economy and in the case of the UK Show the first thing obvious to visitors was that on the very long walk from the airport/station apart from the Horse of the Year Show there were absolutely no other events going on at NEC. Mile after mile of empty exhibition areas until you arrive at Hall 17, home of Coach & Bus Live which itself only occupied two-thirds of the available space.
Although there is a UK Show every year they alternate between this rather smaller one and a bigger event in even years. Although Volvo and ADL had their own large stands there were relatively few other major manufacturers - King Long, BMC and some others but generally rather thin.

It is not surprising. Despite the very thin times being experienced by NEC the cost of taking the hall is still expensive and the cost of having a stand and manning it easily runs into six figures. More than one manufacturer expresses the view that for the money they could take their best and/or most promising customers to an idyllic island paradise for a long weekend and have their exclusive attention. In contrast those same customers step off one stand duly fed and watered and go straight to a competitor's.

The bulk of these Shows is increasingly taken up by the supporting manufacturers of components, materials and services and perhaps the most interesting continues to be those promoting the benefits of new technology. Some of the more far-thinking operators were clearly engaged in opportunities for improved efficiency and reduced costs by engaging with them.

I had one commitment myself which was to be part of the presentation in the Show's auditorium for operators to learn about the Olympic Games and how it affects London and the other venues.

This took place in an open seated area in the middle of the Show. With a headset microphone to help beat the background noise of the whole event and people coming and going throughout it felt like I was demonstrating a new foot bath in a department store but it was good to see so many coach operators eager to learn about the business opportunities which the Games will bring, as well as the making sure they were prepared for the changes to the way the road network will operate.

A First Wrights-bodied Volvo was on display demonstrating the quality of external refurbishments being undertaken, and in the moments before opening TfL Roundels were being applied.

A nostalgic line-up of AA road vehicles past and present
was an interesting feature of this year's show