§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many(a) bus services and (b) night bus services in London were cancelled due to (i) breakdowns and (ii) lack of drivers, on a borough basis in each year since 1997. [26456]
§ Ms KeebleThis is a matter for Transport for London (TfL). However, TfL have provided the following information which may be helpful.
Bus services in London are competitively tendered and run under contract to TfL by a number of private bus operating companies. Service losses are measured in terms of bus kilometres and used as one of the key performance indicators of service delivery.
203WPerformance since 1997£98 is shown in the table. It is not possible to give figures for kilometres not operated broken down by borough. Bus routes, by their nature, cross borough boundaries and very few routes run wholly within one borough.
The two main categories of lost kilometres shown are:
Staff—resulting from journeys cancelled owing to the lack of a driver and/or a conductor.Engineering—resulting from journeys cancelled or curtailed owing to the lack of a suitable vehicle or because of mechanical breakdown.Figures for 2001–02 are not yet available. However, TfL have indicated that between April to December 2001 there was a progressive drop in the amount of kilometres lost for staffing reasons. This performance measure continues to be significantly better than the level in the preceding 12 months, despite a higher number of scheduled kilometres.
Percentage of scheduled kilometres lost due to: Financial year Staffing Engineering Scheduled kilometres (Million) 1997–98 0.8 0.4 348 1998–99 1.0 0.5 350 1999–2000 1.9 0.5 364 000–01 2.0 0.6 374 20011 1.2 0.5 289 11 April to 28 December Night Bus Services
In 2000–01 1 per cent. of scheduled kilometres were not operated by night buses. Of this, 0.8 per cent. was due to staffing and 0.2 per cent. due to mechanical reasons.
Separate data for night bus services are not available for years before 2000–01.