Initiatives
We want to raise quality standards and the passengers ride experience. As part of this we were the first bus company in the UK to have introduced a fully realistic Bus Driving Simulator. The simulator, which is jointly funded by First and London Buses, complements on-the-road training and has proved very effective in giving drivers 'on-road' experience via the safety of the simulator.
We were also the first company to run articulated single deck buses in the capital (experimental launch in 2002). Mercedes Benz Citaro articulated buses entered service in November 2003 on Route 18 and in April 2005 on Route 207.
Our partnership with Transport for London to operate state of the art hydrogen fuelled vehicles continued in 2010 with the opening of the only hydrogen fuelling facility in London, at our Lea Interchange depot, to serve the RV1 vehicles.
We have now rolled out DriveGreen technology to all of our fleet allowing driving standards to be reviewed in real-time. The system provides the Drivers with an in-cab display to show how they are driving and therefore how good the passengers ride feels. Afterwards the Driver can access a detailed on-line record of their driving, which will highlight any harsh manoeuvres such as braking, acceleration and sudden lane changes. This allows us to drive more environmentally efficiently and safely. We can focus training where required and work with Transport for London to review potential issues with road layouts and traffic flows.