Woolwich one of the top spots in London for people using bus hoppa fares
Bus stops in Woolwich Town Centre are some of the most popular in London for those using bus hoppa fares with 5,800 journeys now utilising it each week.
The number of journeys from Woolwich exceeds other busy spots in London such as Hammersmith (5,300), Camberwell (4,600) and London Bridge (4,500). Brixton is top in London at 7,800.
For those who don’t know what the hoppa is, it allows passengers to change buses within an hour and pay no extra cost beyond £1.50.
So you could tap in, take a 50 minute trip, get off, and tap in 9 minutes later for another 50 minute trip and still pay no more as only tap-ins count.
The scheme was introduced two years ago and at first only two trips were possible, but since January you can tap away as many times as you want in an hour and pay no more than £1.50.
Unlimited travel within a set time for the cost of one trip is very common in other countries. I’ve used it abroad a lot, and in cities like Barcelona it can also be used on the Metro. Polish cities do similar, to give another example.
On a personal level, since its introduction in London I’ve greatly increased my use of buses and saved a decent chunk amount of money. But I’ve noticed many still seem not to know about the scheme.
It’s been about 6 months whereby the DLR and rail station have been leaving ticket gates unmanned . The numbers must be way off the actual amount of people who travel.
Oh yeah Southeastern numbers way under reality as every station is left open
The Hoppa fare is a great idea and can save passengers who pay fares money. It is a great help when your on a bus that has to terminate early perhaps due to running late in heavy traffic.
You only have to look at the bus stops in Woolwich during the peak hours to see the queues of people waiting for buses. .
Perhaps a consequence of there being fewer direct routes from areas east of Woolwich (Abbey Wood, Welling, Bexleyheath) to the west of Woolwich (Charlton, Greenwich, Peckham) – you’re almost forced to change at Woolwich where a lot of routes start, end and cross over.
I think you have made a very valid point Chris Nash. The Borough does need some more bus routes that could cross the Borough from East to West North to South with out the need to change buses in Woolwich. . I am sure this would improve bus patronage on many routes and speed up people journeys. As they will not have to break their journey to wait for another bus.
As well as pointing to a lack of direct routes, this may also include a lot of people popping into the town centre, doing a bit of shopping then going home again within the hour. Good news for those people but surely not what the hopper fare was meant for and so losing TfL money which means they cut bus routes further to save money.