Record numbers took to London's buses in storm instead of Tube

 
Busy: London's bus network saw a 30per cent rise in passengers during the storm
BUSY BUS London
Matthew Beard31 October 2013

London's buses carried a record number of passengers on Monday as commuters switched from the Tube network during the worst storm in recent years.

Official figures showed an unprecedented 7.54 million took the bus with a huge surge in the evening peak - a 30 per cent rise on the average Monday - as Londoners battled to get home following the extreme weather.

The rise bucked the normal trend half-term week in when bus journeys normally drop during by ten per cent, TfL said.

Tube journeys fell by nine per cent to 3.86 million as six lines were suspended at the height of the storm due largely to fallen tress at the extremities.

TfL said the blanket cancellation of morning national rail services in London and the South East was partly to blame for the drop in Tube useage.

But they said the switch to the bus was proof of the overall resilience of the public transport network.

The London Overground - vulnerable to line blockages during the storm - was paralysed for much of the day.

Transport for London chief Sir Peter Hendy said: “Monday’s extreme weather conditions made travelling conditions pretty tough at times, and I want to thank our customers and road users for bearing with us while our staff worked hard to shift trees and debris from lines and roads to keep the city moving. The bus network did an amazing job, carrying 7.54 million passengers with around 30 per cent more passengers travelling by bus than on a normal Monday night.”

The bus and the Tube network carried a combined 11.4 million passengers compared with 10.7 million on an average Monday.

Meanwhile Tube chiefs were today accused of not doing enough to attract private firms to improve the passenger experience on the Underground.

A report by the London Assembly Tories said TV screens, toilets and internet connectivity could all be provided by sponsors in return for using their brand name around Tube stations.

The Tories also accused Transport for London of exaggerating the cost of renaming Tube stations in return for sponsorship cash, a move which they proposed in an earlier report.

TfL claimed naming a zone 1 station would cost £2m with the same price tag for reverting to its original name. Using Tfl’s own figures acquired under the Freedom of Information act, the Tories found that the estimated cost of £350,000 to update maps and £150,000 to change announcements were far more than the expense of previous name changes. The report said a £2m pricetag to revert to a stations name was “ludicrous”.

Gareth Bacon, Conservative London Assembly Member and author of the feasibility study said: “As the Mayor is about to make another announcement on fare increases, it is time he forced TfL to seriously consider realistic ways to bear down on passenger fares.”

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