'Mayor just doesn't understand bus travel' - Caroline Pidgeon slams Mayor's rejection of One Hour Bus Ticket proposal

12.00.00pm GMT Tue 15th Dec 2009

The Mayor of London has rejected the proposal of a One Hour Bus Ticket despite recent unanimous support for the proposal from the London Assembly.

In response to a letter from Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, the Mayor has stated that he has "no plans to introduce such as scheme".

Commenting on the Mayor's response Caroline said:

"I am bitterly disappointed by the Mayor's ill thought out response, which simply reveals that the Mayor doesn't understand bus travel. Quite frankly considering the recent support for this proposal from Labour, Conservative, Green and Liberal Democrat Assembly Members the Mayor should have given this issue some serious consideration. Sadly it seems the Mayor is not willing to even listen to Conservative Assembly Members on this issue who as a group gave their full support for the proposal.

"The Mayor has not even addressed the basic point that while you can switch from tube to tube and not pay an extra fare bus travellers are penalised for making just two very short bus journeys. The Mayor has equally not addressed the point that similar time limited bus tickets exist in other cities, without some of the costs and administration problems he claims might exist. Most notably the Mayor seems to think that the proposal will be expensive when this need not be the case, especially as it could attract a lot more people onto the buses and therefore could generate significant extra revenue."

"It is a great shame that the Mayor seems incapable of giving proper thought to a sensible proposal which could help reduce congestion by giving Londoners an affordable alternative to a short car drive and make bus travel easier and cheaper for people who simply have to use two or more buses to complete their journey."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. Mayor's response to Caroline Pidgeon

2. Response to the Mayor's claims:

'but could enable multiple journeys to be made for well over an hour if the last bus boarded involved a long journey."

Response:

This seems a strange argument considering TfL indicate that the average bus journey length is just 3.54km (2.2 miles, 9 stops), and estimate that 16% of bus journeys on Oyster 'Pay As You Go' involve using a second bus within 60 minutes of the first.

'A One Hours Bus Ticket would only benefit those passengers using Oyster Pay as You Go to pay for individual bus journeys, or which only a quarter currently make a bus-to-to bus transfer.'

Response:

A quarter is actually a significant number of journeys. Moreover, the Mayor has not addressed the point that some people are occasionally forced to make bus-to-bus transfers on a single journey due to buses breaking down. Often these individuals are charged for two bus journeys. However, most significantly the Mayor has failed to understand that the existence of a One Hour Bus Ticket would provide an incentive for many people to start using the buses, when often other forms of transport are used, especially cars.

'To fund a new concession such as the One Hour Bus Ticket, either some of the existing concessions would have to be withdrawn or bus fare payers would have to face further fare increases.'

Response:

Again the Mayor fails to understand that a One Hour Bus Ticket might attract new bus travel.

3. London Assembly support for a One Hour Bus Ticket

One the 21st October 2009 the London Assembly debated a motion supporting the basic principle of a One Hour Bus Ticket. The vote was 21 votes in favour of the motion, with none against. The 21 London Assembly Member voting in favour included Conservative, Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat Assembly Members. For more details see:

http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release_a.jsp?releaseid=24041

4. International comparison

In Paris, passengers have 1 hour 30 minutes at their disposal between the first and last validation of their bus ticket to carry out one or many trips. Brussels offers the "Un Voyage" ticket. In Rome the 'Metrebus' ticket is valid for 75 minutes of travel almost anywhere in and around Rome and you can change buses as many times as you want during that time.