Boris Bus Fan Talks More Rubbish

Sometimes, the press can be suckers for the witterings of those who pretend to know their subject, but turn out not to have a clue. Today, the Independent has indulged one such pundit, Autocar’s Hilton Holloway, whose enthusiasm for the New Bus For London (NB4L), aka Boris Bus or BozzaMaster, has led to some in the press concluding that he knows what he is talking about.

Poor economics: New Bus For London

“On the buses: Public transport is undergoing a technological transformation” gushes Christopher Beanland, before getting the NB4L all wrong: “the Ulster-built buses have proved more of a hit with tourists, who like the ‘hop on, hop off’ platforms on the Routemaster replacements”. Where to start? They’re not a Routemaster replacement, tourists aren’t fussed, and you can’t just hop on or off.

With this level of hype, it is no surprise that Holloway has managed to get his foot in the door: “Personally I think that after the Crossrail station at Tottenham Court Road is finished, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane could become a circular trolley- bus route – using converted Boris Buses” he announced, which will be a surprise to anyone at TfL, which has no such intention.

Sound economics: pair of Tatra T3s in Prague

And, as the man said, there’s more: “As urban populations swell, buses offer the best mix of affordability, flexibility, and low investment for mass transport. They're essential for budget travel because of the huge infrastructure costs – and, therefore, high fares – associated with new undergrounds or trams”. A word in your shell-like, Hilt: your grasp of transport economics ain’t making it.

The NB4L requires two crew members – as well as frequent visits from the fare dodger hit squad – and yet it carries a maximum of 80 passengers. Even cities like Prague, which runs many tram routes with the venerable Tatra T3, doubles them up into pairs with one driver. A T3 can carry more than an NB4L. So a pair of them, with one crew member, has less than a quarter of the staff costs.

Ultimate people mover: Siemens Combino Supra in Budapest

So much for “high fares” associated with trams. And it gets worse for the Holloway Weltanschauung: modern people movers, such as the Siemens Combino Suprabuilt for Budapest’s lines 4 and 6, can comfortably hoover up 400 punters, which, given there is, once again, one crew member, makes their staff cost one-tenththat of the BozzaMaster. And Hilt’s trolleybus conversion isn’t going to happen.

The NB4L, in any case, is too heavy to carry its design load (it should be able to take 87 passengers, but can only take 80). A trolleybus conversion would make it yet heavier, and even more uneconomic. And the shaky grasp of economic reality demonstrated by its most enthusiastic fan shows that he doesn’t get why “everyone’s out of step bar our Boris”.

Leave public transport to the real experts, Hilton. You’re out of your depth.

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