A Transport for London (TfL) report has highlighted “a further £2m higher fuel costs for New Routemasters with the actual miles per gallon achieved less efficient than that assumed in the Budget.”
In highlighting cost increases the Finance and Policy Committee’s Operational and Financial Performance and Investment Programme Reports – Fourth Quarter 2015/16 also talks about the “£7m extra costs on buses to improve reliability.” However, “Surface Transport operating expenditure was £100m lower than Budget over the full year, due to £75m net cost reductions, £42m of project rescheduling (partly offset by a £27m overprogramming provision) and a £10m reclassification of risk expenditure from revenue to capital. Cost reductions totalled £107m and included:
(Blob) £56m from lower bus contract costs, due to worse than expected bus contractor performance, lower than budgeted diesel prices and less ticket commission costs as a result of lower fare income
(Blob) £14m cost reductions across a number of areas, including lower than expected policing costs due to difficulties in Metropolitan Police Service recruitment, lower iBus costs and savings in passenger survey expenditure
(Blob) £12m from Local Implementation Plans projects due to slow delivery of major schemes
(Blob) £12m cost reductions in Asset Management largely due to savings identified following the restructure of Traffic Infrastructure revenue maintenance activities, reduced A13 DBFO (Design Build Finance Operate) payments and a London Highway Alliance Contract annual volume rebate
(Blob) A further £9m of savings across a range of initiatives following a detailed prioritisation exercise”
