With many passengers unwilling to ride London’s trains, its bus routes have gotten very busy as more people return to work, creating an unwanted crowd scene. One solution: Open-top sightseeing buses have been pressed into service along commuter routes.
Snap, an app-based bus and coach outsourcing company, is running a free trial of the idea, with a route paralleling the Tube’s Victoria line, identified by Transport for London as a very busy corridor for its entire length. Outdoor travel is believed safer than in the confined quarters of a bus or train.
The company says it has access to most of the 233 open-top tour buses in London, and is hoping to get most of them to work as commuter transportation. Rather than focusing, at least at first, on fixed routes, Snap plans to have passengers register their trip need on the app, getasnap.com. Buses would then be assigned depending on who’s waiting and where they want to go, sort of like a giant Uber Pool.
So far, no fares have been set; Snap says that will depend on how many people want to take the service. The company says that if it can get 20 people going to different points along a reasonable route, it can operate a route; if enough people use the service, fares could be comparable to the TfL tube or bus fare.
