London mayor Sadiq Khan may have decided not to order any more of predecessor’s ‘vanity project’, but it seems Boris Buses could be causing trouble for some time yet.
Transport for London (TfL) has recalled 400 New Routemaster buses after a fault caused the rear door to open when the bus was moving, bringing the vehicle to a halt.
Boris Johnson is now an MP - and foreign secretary
The buses have been beset with problems since they were first commissioned by Mr Johnson, including high internal temperatures, faulty batteries, steering faults and – ironically – a design change that closed the iconic open back door.
TfL said it identified the new fault after an incident last November when a driver repeatedly pressed the ‘door close’ button.
The system became overloaded with close requests and so opened the door to attempt a re-cycle.
Gareth Powell, TfL’s director of strategy and contracted services, said: ‘The fault we identified would only occur at very low speed and if the driver doesn’t follow the correct procedure.
‘As a precaution, the manufacturer, Wrightbus, is carrying out a software update at no cost to Transport for London.’
TfL said that having identified the fault, it had informed the Department for Transport and Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency ‘as part of usual reporting processes’.
It added that the 400 buses affected, 244 have now been updated, with all buses scheduled for completion 'as soon as possible'.
Earlier this month, TfL confirmed that it would not be ordering any more of what has been widely described as Mr Johnson’s ‘vanity project’, although existing orders placed by the former mayor would be honoured.
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