The excellent Boris Watch site has produced a straightforward comparison between the rigid Mercedes-Benz Citaros that replaced their older, articulated sisters on London's Service 507 (Victoria-Waterloo) at the start of last week. It's the most compelling case for Boris to have a re-think I've seen.
2002-2009 Nasty Old Ken Era 507
- 9 buses
- 18m per bus
- 162m of bus on the road
- 49 seats per bus
- 100 standee places per bus (placarded, TfL capacity figures assume 71)
- 441 seats in total
- Standee/seated ratio 2.04:1
2009-2016 Cuddly New Boris Era 507
- 15 buses
- 12m per bus
- 180m of bus on the road
- 21 seats per bus
- 76 standee places per bus (placarded, TfL capacity figures assume 49)
- 315 seats in total
- Standee/seated ratio 3.6:1
So:
- the number of seats has been reduced by 29% so you’ll get a seat less often if you’re a regular user
- the amount of bus on the road has increased by 11%, 18m, or an entire bendy bus
- the cost per year is £214k more than keeping the bendies
- the inside has exactly the same ambience as the bendy
- there’s no change to the open boarding procedure, so there’s no fare evasion decrease to offset the cost
