The Downside of PFI
I found this little story tucked away on the Internet. In 1998, London Underground entered into a PFI contract with a consortium called Powerlink to provide power to the system. Although, they have no issues with the consortium, London Underground have decided to exercise a break clause, that should save them £220m over the thirty year life of the contract.
Sounds like good and sensible business to me, unless you’re a member of the consortium.
Supposedly, New Buses for London cost about £330,000 each. If you divide this into £220m, you get approximately 667 buses.
Didn’t Transport for London just buy 600 New Buses for London?
It makes you think!
Boris’s Plot To Get Londoners Fit!
A few days ago, at the Angel, I came out of the Tube station and after picking up my paper, I needed any of a 30, 38 or 56 bus to get myself home.
I was crossing the road, when I became aware of people running in all directions, including down the middle of and across the road. Luckily the lights were with us, so I followed the force.
The rushing was all because a New Bus for London, running on the 38 route had appeared and was waiting to get on the stop to suck in its load of passengers.
I got on at the rear platform and sat immediately and safely in one of the rear facing seats by the platform, just as the bus moved away.
This morning returning from the Angel after a coffee and doing some shopping, I followed a rather puffing much younger man onto the bus.
I then remarked to the driver that these buses seemed to be a plot to get Londoners fit.
She laughed and didn’t disagree.
The Designers of the New Bus for London Missed a Trick Here
This picture shows the roof detail downstairs on the New Bus for London.
Roof Detail on a New Bus for London
The strip is just a moulding and design detail, but on some buses in the sixties and seventies, this strip was soft and if you pressed it the bell rang to stop the bus.
London Uses The Train Model For 600 New Buses for London
London has just ordered 600 New Buses for London from Wrightbus, according to this article on the BBC website.
Boris’s political opponents say he is wrong, but they would anyway, wouldn’t they?
On the other hand, what Transport for London (TfL) are using is exactly the same purchase model, as that used for trains in this country.
The trains are ordered by the Department of Transport, owned by leasing companies or ROSCOs and then hired by the train companies like Virgin. In many cases, the maintenance is arranged by the manufacturer or ROSCO and they guarantee to provide so many trains each day.
When applied to London’s buses, this must give similar advantages.
- Although, TfL are buying 600 buses, I suspect that this package includes maintenance and guarantees a specific number of operational buses. In fact, on the 38 route, there are nine in service, but usually one is kept as a spare, in case of failure.
- Are TfL selling the leases on to a third party? How many of those, who are against the deal, have never bought something on hire purchase or a lease?
- The buses can be used, where and when they are needed. Most routes need about 20-30 buses, so batches of the New Buses can be moved around, according to need. For instance, the passenger pattern may be very different according to the seasons, so buses might run on one route in summer and another in the winter.
- These buses will change as time goes on and owning them outright, gives TfL the opportunity to update the older ones to the new specification.
- I think too, that the single ownership, should mean that the buses will have a longer service lifetime, just like the old Routemasters and the Inter City 125 trains.
- It will also give TfL time to do a full analysis of bus design, operation patterns and costs.
So all things being well, I think this could be a good decision, that saves money in the long term.
Waiting For A New Bus for London
I was waiting for a 38 or 56 bus at the Angel, this afternoon and as I had a couple of moderately-heavy bags from Waitrose and the stop was busy, I waited about twenty metres away from the stop, in case a New Bus for London arrived. I wasn’t the only one and when a bus did arrive, we all formed a secondary queue and got on at the back door, when the conductor beckoned. If one hadn’t have arrived, we’d have all waited until the main queue had shortened and then joined the first bus.
I think we’re just going along with the designer’s plans, as the New Bus was quickly on its way. It will be interesting to see how much New Buses for London save on journey times.
A Missed Picture!
I waited by the Angel Building for a New Bus for London to trundle up the hill to the stop, so that I could photograph one with Lauderdale Tower and The Shard in the background.
Lauderdale Tower and The Shard
But one didn’t come!
Jessica was on the bus-stop opposite!
Jessica At The Bus Stop
She must have the most displayed midriff in history.
Both Ways By New Bus For London
I did a quick trip to the Angel and it was both ways on a New Bus for London. In both cases I saw the bus coming and waited a couple of minutes to catch it. I wasn’t the only one either.
On the way up, I heard a rumour that another ten buses are on their way and they will be on route 73.
Whether this is true, I would have no idea, but it is another route like route 38, that is operated by Arriva.
A New Bus for London Reflected In The Angel Building
I took this picture yesterday from a New Bus for London.
A New Bus For London Reflected In The Angel Building
The Angel Building was nominated for the Stirling Prize in 2011.
The Totally Flat Floor Of A New Bus For London
As someone who travels on buses a lot, all buses should be like this on the lower deck.
The Totally Flat Floor Of A New Bus For London
The picture was taken from the back looking forward.
I think only the New Bus for London has such a flat floor. The conductor told me, it makes things a lot easier for both himself and the passengers.
Incidentally, I had to run and catch this bus. In the end I jumped onto the rear platform after a forty metre sprint. Not bad for a sixty-five year old after a stroke, with a dicky heart.
try doing that on any other bus.
IPPR Says Fuel Prices Should Rise
The IPPR is reported to be saying that fuel prices should rise, much to the dismay of motorists. It’s all here in the Telegraph.
I don’t care what happens to fuel prices personally, as I don’t have a car and I get my public transport in the London area free.
But I’ve always felt that fuel prices are too low, as this increases consumption, which increases global warming. It also reduces the pressure for vehicle manufacturers to make more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Concerning the latter, I have a lot of hybrid-buses near me, including of course, the New Bus for London. All of these hybrid buses deliver much higher lower fuel consumption and in addition, quantities of black smoke and noise.
Rises in fuel prices would improve our vehicles in other ways.
The Anonymous Widower 