Transport for LondonLondon Buses
Skip to navigationIn 2003/04, there were 1.7 billion bus trips, the highest since 1968.
We remain proud of what we have achieved with buses in London. One third of all bus journeys in England are made in London, with London Buses now carrying over 5.7 million passengers on over 6,800 scheduled buses on a typical weekday - the highest number of daily trips reached 6 million in 2003/04. Network coverage continued to expand in 2003/04 and operated bus mileage in London is now higher than at any time since 1957.
Service levels have improved, as has bus reliability; thanks to the effects of congestion charging, bus priorities and transport policing, and the introduction of quality incentive contracts which reward bus operators for good performance and penalise poor performance. Improvements have also been made to bus passenger information over the last four years, with the roll out of stop specific timetables and spider maps.
TfL research shows that only 18 per cent of Londoners do not use the bus, compared to 24 per cent one year ago - so better, more frequent services, and better passenger information really do translate into a greater willingness to get on board. Passengers have also benefited from the refurbishment of Victoria bus station and will further benefit from the works being undertaken at Walthamstow, Waterloo and Vauxhall and those being planned for Hammersmith.
Bus journey time and reliability have improved through a greater number of bus lanes (now totalling more than 1,000) and other bus priority measures, which are now enforced by over 1,300 static and bus mounted CCTV cameras, and by the TfL funded, Metropolitan Police Service Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU). This is deploying over 900 uniformed Police Officers, Police Community Support Officers and Traffic Wardens on London's streets to ensure buses are kept moving and that there is a safe environment for passengers to travel in.
In 2003/04, this unit issued nearly 100,000 traffic tickets for parking violations on Red Routes and made over 3,500 arrests. One hundred and ninety Bus Revenue Protection Inspectors minimised lost revenue by checking 7.5 million passengers in 2003/04 and identifying 65,000 ticketing irregularities.
Over the past year, TfL has also started taking part in a pioneering two-year European Union funded project to improve air quality by introducing three firstgeneration hydrogen fuel-cell buses on bus route 25.
In April 2004, in recognition of the improved service provided by London Buses, we received the Government's Beacon Scheme Award in the category 'Better Local Public Transport'.
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