Usually my transport round-ups cover all kinds of London transport but this time it's almost all buses, sorry.
💷 The Mayor has announced that bus fares will rise by 10p in November. He didn't phrase it like that, he called it a extended summer fare freeze, and lots of media outlets ran with this more positive spin. His initial decision to freeze fares temporarily was announced last December, funded by City Hall, and only now has he confirmed when that freeze will end. It means bus fares will rise from £1.75 to £1.85 on 1st November, a 5.7% increase which is double the rate of inflation. However bus fares haven't actually risen since March 2023, a hike forced by the government, so you could argue that climbing only 5.7% after 3½ years is a really good deal.
Here's a history of London bus fares over the last 20 years. I've assumed that Sadiq's latest rise is really introducing the 2027 increase four months early.
Cost of a London bus journey
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
£0.80
£1.00
£0.90
£1.00
£1.20
£1.30
£1.35
£1.40
£1.45
£1.50
£1.50
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
£1.50
£1.50
£1.50
£1.50
£1.55
£1.65
£1.75
£1.75
£1.75
£1.75
£1.85
The bottom row of the table is effectively Sadiq's record as Mayor of London. Since 2016 he's frozen fares seven times and overseen a 23% fare increase (from £1.50 to £1.85). Boris's tenure is on the row above, a 67% increase from 90p in 2008 to £1.50 in 2016. That's the difference between a Labour Mayor who believes in keeping fares down and a Conservative Mayor who believed in better reflecting cost pressures. You cast your vote, you take your choice.
🎾 For a fortnight in July London gets a new bus route numbered 840, its purpose to get you to the tennis at Wimbledon. Such are the crowds that the 493 gets diverted away from the grounds for two weeks, also no tube station is quite close enough if you're in high heels or carrying a hamper. Go-Ahead thus put on a special bus service from Wimbledon station to the Championships and employ a small armada of brand new double deckers to do repeated ferrying. Quite a queue builds up, sometimes stretching back as far as Greggs, and a staff member wanders down the line issuing tickets from a card reader. Cash is not accepted.
I'm not quite sure what the fare is, only that it's at least twice the normal London bus fare. The All England Club can only tell you last year's fares which were £4.00 single, £6.50 return. Go-Ahead only have the 2024 fares which were £4.00 single, £6.00 return, so it's gone up. South Western Railway reckon it's "£3.50 for a single ticket" so they're even more out of date. Such fares are unlikely to deter those who've forked out for Wimbledon tickets but it's quite steep for a six minute ride, indeed you could say it's a racket.
🚌 The results of three bus consultations were published last month, confirming that eleven bus routes will change on some as yet unannounced date.
Central London - through Islington and Westminster
• Route 38 currently runs from Clapton Pond to Victoria. In future it'll only run to Holborn, a 2-mile shortening.
• Route 19 currently runs from Finsbury Park to Battersea Bridge. In future it'll only run to Victoria, a 2-mile shortening.
• New route 10 will run from Newington Green to Battersea Bridge, taking up most of the slack along the lengthy section currently shared by routes 19 and 38. I wrote about this in more detail in November, including a helpfully-simple graphic.
North London - through Tottenham and Seven Sisters
• Route 349 runs between Ponders End and Stamford Hill. It will be withdrawn.
• Route 279 will be diverted to Stamford Hill rather than Manor House to make up for the loss of the 349.
• Route 259 will be extended north to Ponders End to make up for the loss of the 349, but also cut back from King's Cross to Holloway. I wrote about this in more detail in November, including a helpfully-simple graphic.
North London - through Meridian Water
• Route 192 will no longer pass through Meridian Water to Tottenham Hale, terminating instead at Picketts Lock.
• Route W8 will no longer terminate at Picketts Lock but pass through Meridian Water to end at Tottenham Hale.
• Route 476 will be extended from Northumberland Park into the new Meridian Water development.
• Route 341 will be cut back from Meridian Water to Northumberland Park.
• Route 444 will be diverted through the new Meridian Water development, along roads not yet built.
🚌 On Saturday the frequency of route 286 (Greenwich to Queen Mary's Hospital) is being cut from every 12 minutes to every 15. A small shave, but yet another incremental worsening of London's bus network.
🚌 Outer London, specifically outer Havering, is due to get a brand new bus route on 27th July. It's not a TfL route, it's existing Basildon route B1 which will be extended from Laindon to Harold Wood. It means south Essex residents will have a direct connection to the Elizabeth Line (and residents of Harold Wood can nip by bus to Taco Bell in Basildon). According to the B1 timetable double deckers will run every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday (first bus 6am, last bus 8pm) and every 30 minutes on Sundays. According to the service permit the bus will exit the capital via Cockabourne Bridge and Hall Lane, shadowing route 346, but won't stop anywhere other than the station.
🚌 One day I will ride all the numbered non-TfL buses that enter London, probably when I finally get a Freedom Pass. In the meantime let me make a provisional list.
🚡 And finally, is the Cable Car flogging yet another new thematic money-making experience? Of course it is. It's Engi-Bear's Football Adventure and it runs all summer long. I am not joking.
"Celebrate the summer of football 2026 at the London Cable Car with Engi-Bear's Football Adventure, a fun, family-friendly experience for children aged 5-15. This experience includes a return cable car journey alongside a passport activity booklet packed with fun tasks, including a flag hunt to spot flags across the London Cable Car terminals. After completing the adventure, head to the cafe in the Cable Car Experience at Greenwich Peninsula, where each child will receive a champions certificate and medal."
More flag-spotting than football, then. They're charging £10.50 per child which isn't too much of an upsell, given a round trip normally costs £6.75. But if all you're getting is an activity booklet, a certificate and a medal, likely cheaply produced, it's still an incremental earner. The price goes up to £19.50 if you choose the Ultimate option which also includes face-painting, specific dates only. I don't know if Engi-Bear turns up too, but if you're the poor employee who gets to wear the ridiculous yellow costume I pity you.
Note how carefully the marketing team HAVEN'T mentioned the World Cup or FIFA to avoid any trademark issues, they're simply piggybacking opportunistically on the general concept of football. The whiff of commercial desperation is increasingly evident, and as the Dangleway enters its fifteenth year I fear it'll only get desperater.
