Lost mileage rises
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• Bus mileage lost through traffic congestion increased from 1.8% to 2.1% last year, according to London Transport's annual report.
"The need to improve the flow of London's road traffic and to give priority to buses is increasingly important," says LT chairman Wilfrid Newton, Total LT bus mileage rose by five million to 175 million but passenger journeys fell by 2% to 1,221 million.
There are now 27 contractors operating 1,263 buses on 167 tendered routes in London, representing 30% of the total network. Average waiting time in 1989/90 was 7.3 minutes; a figure which has not changed since 1985/86.
In a separate report the London Regional Passengers Committee says that deregulation would be bad news for London because, unlike the rest of Britain, usage was up and fares had kept almost constant in real terms.
It concludes that the existing tendering process has much to commend it "because the tight controls exercised by LT's tendered bus unit have resulted in improvements to the service on tendered routes".