London buses. The only way to know the price.
TfL decides every bus route in London: the fare, the timetable and every stop. Now it is setting up its own bus company, because the only way to find out what something costs is to do it yourself.
THE GIST ON LONDON BUSES: "London Buses"
How do London's buses work?
TfL plans everything, and eight private companies bid for the right to actually drive the routes. The number 6 is run by Metroline.
That split is exactly why London buses largely work and the rest of the country's largely don't. Everywhere else got deregulated in the 80s, and the operators just picked the routes that made the most money.
What did TfL just announce?
Last week, TfL announced it was setting up its own bus company, to compete with the other bus companies it pays to run the routes. It is starting with one route out of nearly 700. Buses for London, as they've imaginatively called it, is more a dipping of the toe than a full dive.
Why does TfL need to run buses itself?
Every bid is a company's cost, a little bit for profit and some for risk, all rolled up into one. You can see the final figure, but you can't see the true cost. TfL has been contracting out 700 routes for three decades, and only ever been shown what someone was willing to charge.
Once you do the running, you know exactly what it costs. Every bid after that has something that's been crucially missing: context.
Is this just how everything is priced now?
Somebody quotes for a job and we don't know whether it's fair. So we find another two and pick the one in the middle. It's not an informed decision. It's the same thing you do with a wine list.
Plumber, the roof, the school fees, the funeral. You don't know what any of it costs unless you do it yourself, and you never will, because the only ones who know are the ones selling it to you.
Should councils run their own bus companies?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
How does TfL run London's buses?
TfL plans the routes, fares, timetables and stops, and eight private companies bid for the right to drive them.
Why is TfL setting up its own bus company?
Bids only show what a company is willing to charge, never the true cost. Running routes itself gives TfL a figure to judge bids against.
Why did regulation work in London but not elsewhere?
Huw says everywhere else was deregulated in the 80s and operators just picked the most profitable routes.
See you on the next one.
What should the next one be? Suggest a topic for Huw to explain
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