Spot the Bendy

Routes 53 and 453 travel similar routes, but one of them uses articulated vehicles with multiple points of entry. No prizes for guessing which one (answer in the final paragraph).

Roger Evans: What was the level of fare evasion and ridership on routes 53 and 453 since June 2005? What is the estimated level of revenue loss?

Ken Livingstone: There were approximately 10,700,000 passenger journeys made on route 53 during the financial year 2005/06 and approximately 10,500,000 made on route 453 during this same period. The revenue loss is as follows:

Route 53
Surveyed fare evasion 2.3%
Estimated revenue loss £11K - £13K

Route 453
Surveyed fare evasion 6.8%
Estimated revenue loss £31K - £37K

(estimate reached by: passengers per month x average fare paid x average % irregularity)

Route 453 was introduced in order to relieve crowding on route 53 in a cost effective way, hence the use of articulated buses, which can carry more passengers than any other bus. If TfL had enhanced the frequency of route 53 instead, the additional cost of the smaller buses would have been more than the revenue loss caused by higher fare evasion on the articulated buses.