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Il COMMENT FARES FAIR
Page 7
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• The decision by London buses to retain some of its open-platform, two-crew Routemasters for central London operations will be not only welcomed by the traditional bus enthusiasts. It implies a recognition that minimised crew costs do not in themselves guarantee a profitable and efficient bus operation, and that minimised disruption of traffic can be just as important. It is, however, not a long-term decision, and merely reinforces the need for a thorough re-appraisal of the mechanics of urban bus operation.
One of the real problems of road transport in Britain is that urban traffic average speeds are dropping. Increased traffic congestion is the major reason, but a subsidiary reason is certainly the time which single-crew buses spend at a standstill. That is not a result of poor bus design — passenger flow on and off a twin-entrance double-decker can be faster than on a traditional open-platform vehicle — but of totally outmoded ticketing.
That is where the need for a radical rethink becomes apparent. The Routemaster remains a success largely because all ticketing can be done inside while the vehicle is moving, ensuring that stopping time is kept to a minimum. Nonetheless the Routemaster is a 30-year-old design, and even with a new engine it cannot go on forever.
It is unlikely that it will ever again be practical to introduce a new front-engined, open-rear-platform bus, so speeding passenger flow will have to rely on ticketing systems rather than bus design. That surely means the introduction of pre-paid ticketing with no driver involvement as is common throughout the rest of Europe. Vandal-proof ticket machine technology is available, and there are certainly enough people available to be roving ticket inspectors.
What is needed is for bus operators to accept that it is in their own interest — as well as the interest of the rest of the commumity — to introduce such systems. It would be preferable that they reached such decisions themselves, rather than waiting for an exasperated licensing authority or even legislator to decree that no urban bus operator would be granted a licence unless it guaranteed the use of either pre-paid ticketing or conductors on each bus.
Deregulation has already shown that a two-person crew can be an economic proposition, especially where low-priced elderly buses are used, but that course will not stay open for ever. The real solution will be a revolution in ticketing and an acceptance that not every passenger will be a fare-dodger under a pre-paid scheme. Then, with traffic flows speeding up again, perhaps the Routemaster will be allowed the honourable retirement it richly deserves.