Last month, Peter Bradley took a look at what London Service Permits are. This month he describes the types of services that run under them
There are now around 200 current London Service Permits (LSPs) in operation, although some of these will cover two or more services by the same operator if the routeing in London is very similar. This has been a steady climb from around the 160 LSPs that were in existence 10 years ago.
Some are for high frequency, 24-hours-a-day services, while at the other end of the scale you have a permit for route 837, which only runs on Boxing Day to link Kew Gardens station with Kempton Park Racecourse.
Sightseeing buses
Some of the most high-profile services are the Round London Sightseeing Tours. These date back to more than 50 years ago when London Transport ran a tour service.
The Original Tour, now run by RATP, can trace its roots back through changes in ownership to this original service, although it has now been joined by many others, all offering a slightly different experience.
Other big players include Big Bus Tours, Golden Tours, Premium Tours and, more recently, Stagecoach under the Megabus brand. Many of these offer a turn-up-and-go, hop- on/hop-off type service, while others are pre-book only or offered as part of a package.
These services are still very popular with visitors to London although, with the general increase in journey time on the streets of central London, more resources are required.
Special events
Another type of service which requires an LSP are those which are run for special events. A few companies have specialised in these types of services, often holding a fleet of buses specifically for this purpose and borrowing others as necessary.
You can therefore travel in style to such events as the Chelsea and Hampton Court RHS Flower Shows and Derby Day at Epsom.
Often these are highly intensive operations but only for a few days a year. Again, many of these have run for a long time and some originated as extras on regular bus services.
School runs
Finally, a third category of services operated under an LSP are those that are run for schools.
These are not available to the general public but require an LSP mainly because at some stage in the process the students that are carried are charged separate fares. It also helps when picking up at TfL bus stops.
I suspect that this is one area where there are other similar services that should be running under an LSP but where coach and bus operators are not aware that they should.
TfL’s Bus Service Licensing and Permitting Team can be contacted at lsp@tfl.gov.uk or you can contact the LTCOA at ltcoa2@gmail.com for advice.
