Londoners will be getting up to one more month of free bus rides.
The London Transit Commission (LTC) has announced it is extending its rear boarding policy one last time.
"The Commission has extended rear door boarding on conventional transit until such time as the appropriate number of buses in its fleet are equipped with an operator barrier," the LTC said in a statement. "This is expected to occur no later than September 1, 2020."
London Transit has not collected fares since March 20, when it introduced rear boarding as a way to facilitate physical distancing and better protect its drivers from COVID-19. The safety measure, which limits contact, means riders enter and exit through the rear bus doors, eliminating the LTC’s ability to collect fares. All fare collection equipment is located at the front entrance of city buses.
The decision to waive bus fares for the past four months had been a costly one for the LTC. It is now facing an estimated $8.7-million budget deficit. In April, the LTC voted to scrap its 2020 service upgrades, which included the implementation of 18,000 hours of additional conventional service and 6,000 more hours of specialized service.
Protective barriers to surround transit drivers were approved in April. They arrived earlier this month and the LTC has been working to install them in 159 of the buses ever since. Once that is completed front door boarding and fare collection can resume.
"Communication with respect to the return of front-door boarding and fare collection will be rolled out well in advance of the effective date," said transit officials.
