London Transport surprises itself.
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• LT News surprised London Transport's own press information department this week by revealing a £15.8m order for 938 buses, to be delivered in 1975 and 1976.
The News say that the buses — mainly double-deckers — will replace the remaining RT double-deckers, RF single-deckers, and all the 36ft MB-type single-deckers.
The MBs are being withdrawn from service five years earlier than planned.
LT is known to have not been entirely happy with the reliability of its MBs and in addition it now feels that they are too long for the centre of London where they operate.
Some of the 843 double-deckers to be purchased will be o-m-o and some crewed.
The balance, 95, will be non-standard single-deckers, 30ft-long and 7ft 6in.-wide. These will replace the existing RF type single-deckers first introduced more than 20 years ago.
The GLC has approved LT's plan to buy the buses, subject to a Government bus grant of 50 per cent.
But when CM rang LT press office they said that no decision had been taken on what types of vehicles are to be ordered.
And went on to say that some of the new double-deckers will almost certainly be two-man. However, it is not yet known what is intended regarding the 555 MBseries single-deckers.
When we rang the editor of LT News, he said that the reporter on the story had no more details.
Who is responsible for ordering the buses? "Well," we were told, "there must be someone responsible, but it's very early days yet. I'm sure we'll ptjblish more details when they are announced."