TfL Ref: FOI-1901-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 24 November 2021.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked:
Please could I see the statistics of bus ridership that influenced a decision to reduce the U10 bus frequency from every 60 minutes to every 90 minutes (effective April 2022).
The busiest point on route U10 is arriving at Swakeleys Drive from Glenhurst Avenue at around 0800. This bus carries around 40-45 passengers on average and is the first bus in the morning which leaves Glenhurst Avenue at 0730. This bus will continue to operate at this time under the new schedule. The next bus only carries around 5-10 passengers, so widening the gap between these buses from 60 to 90 minutes is not expected to cause crowding on the second bus. For the rest of the day, and in both directions, the average load per bus does not exceed 25 passengers, so no crowding is expected at any time as a result of the reduced frequency.
In terms of the more general rationale for the service change:
In the current U10 schedule, the time it takes for a bus to travel from Uxbridge to Glenhust Avenue and back to Uxbridge (the ‘in-service run-time’) is 77 minutes in the AM peak period, and just over 70 minutes throughout the rest of the day. This means that the current schedule, with a bus departing Uxbridge every 60 minutes, requires 2 vehicles to operate. Reducing the frequency to every 90 minutes will allow the route to be operated with just 1 vehicle. This means that by reducing the frequency to every 90 minutes, TfL is able to save approximately 50% of the operating cost for this route, whilst continuing to provide sufficient capacity to meet passenger demand.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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Yours sincerely
Eva Hextall
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
