Fares hike fuss mars Boris bus launch

The new Boris bus: London’s mayor is slowing down the rollout of cheaper hybrids. Photograph: Antonio Curcetti

London Mayor Boris Johnson’s new Routemaster bus has been given a bumpy ride from opposition parties after being introduced to Hackney last month. The first of the new models was introduced onto the 38 bus route, running from Victoria to Clapton.

Billed as a replacement for the old bendy bus which was phased out in December, the new vehicle has been championed by Boris Johnson, who described it as the “very best in British design”.

The London Mayor said: “From today Londoners will have the chance to jump aboard this stunning piece of automotive architecture on which every feature is tailored to the London passenger.”

Although crowds gathered to witness its maiden journey, this enthusiasm is not shared by all. Many, including Labour MP David Lammy, have cited the cost of the scheme coupled with the fact that bus fares have massively increased since Mr Johnson was elected as mayor in 2008.

In January, Hackney North MP Diane Abbott expressed her “disgust” as average Transport for London fare prices were hiked up by 5.6 per cent.

She said at the time: “As many people in Hackney go back at work this week they will have felt the pain of a fourth year of above inflation bus, Tube, and train hikes under Boris Johnson. This is the wrong fare rise at the wrong time, taking money out of people’s pockets when the London economy is struggling and when people are very hard pressed.”

With seven further models expected to be introduced to the route this summer, Mr Johnson insists there is more to the “Boris Bus” than meets the eye.

“The green innards of this red bus mean that it is twice as fuel efficient as a diesel bus and the most environment-friendly of its kind,” he stated. “When ordered in greater numbers it will make a significant economic contribution to the manufacturing industries, while also helping deliver a cleaner, greener and more pleasant city.”

Green party London mayoral candidate Jenny Jones has quizzed the Mayor of London over the scrapping of his pledge that all new buses would be hybrids from 2012 onwards.
Boris Johnson now says just 52 of the 800 new buses on London’s roads in the next financial year are certain to be hybrids.

Ms Jones said: “We know that hybrid buses reduce pollution, so why is the Mayor slowing down the roll out rather than speeding it up? I think that his new vanity bus has blown the budget for ensuring that all buses are hybrids. Instead of eight prototype buses, we could have had another 96 low polluting hybrids on our roads. Pound for pound this is a bad deal for London’s environment.”