Bus Reshaping Plan

The Bus Reshaping Plan of 1966 was a plan devised by the London Transport Board for the reorganisation of bus routes in London, England.[1][2] The main features of the plan, which was to be rolled out over ten to fifteen years, were:

  • Introduction of one man operation (OMO) to address staff shortages and costs
  • Introduction of flat fare routes centred on outer hubs
  • A shortening of routes to improve reliability and ease scheduling
  • Long single deckers in place of double-deckers[2]

The plan began to be implemented in September 1968, but immediately proved problematic: the public disliked the changes, the new vehicles - "Merlin"s - were found to be unsuitable, and it was difficult to find available land for the proposed suburban transport interchanges.[2] By 1973 the plan had effectively been abandoned, with a decision to retain crew operation and to dispose of the Merlins.[3][4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference timesplan1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference plan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Arnold and Harris (1982), p.88
  4. ^ Ian Smith (1 December 2000). "The London Transport Merlins". Ian's Bus Stop. Retrieved 10 April 2010.