TfL exploring whether a new demand responsive TfL service could complement existing bus network.
TfL is approaching a range of businesses – including bus operators and tech companies – to see if the innovations in ride-booking technology can be used to create a new TfL bus service that complements the network.
The services, for nine passengers or more, would not replace existing services.
Businesses are being asked to express their interest in trialling a new TfL service that would operate flexibly in an area in need of improved public transport.
The partnership with TfL could be an on-demand minibus ordered through an app, or a service on a semi-fixed route that can be diverted to pick up individual passengers.
If the trial goes ahead it would involve a “small number of vehicles” and would be held in “an area of outer London where car dependency is high and other forms of public transport are less viable.” Any trial would run for no longer than 12 months.
The announcement comes as the first London-based demand responsive bus network – Ford-owned Chariot, which runs on inner London routes – has attracted criticism from residents.
TfL says a trial would help it to “better understand and assess how such services could complement the existing extensive bus network” and “set standards for a potential future TfL service around safety, accessibility, air quality, affordability, the use of concessions (such as the Freedom Pass) and customer service.”
It is proposed that the Mayor’s minimum professional London bus driver wage and Licence for London would apply to this trial.
TfL Director of Transport Innovation, Michael Hurwitz, says: We want to understand the potential of new TfL demand-responsive services to improve public transport for all Londoners. By approaching potential partners, we are engaging the market to establish interest in delivering a trial of a new TfL service.”
