How CitySwift helps Metroline London stay ahead in a city of constant disruption

Metroline is one of London’s largest bus operators, running more than 1,400 buses across 100 routes contracted by Transport for London (TfL). A subsidiary of leading global multi-modal transport operator ComfortDelGro, Metroline transports around 1 million passengers a day in London alone. As Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Hunter, oversees service delivery, route scheduling and route tendering in London’s highly competitive market. Additionally, his remit includes Metroline London’s zero emission transformation.

Andrew leads a team of over 250 people, that includes schedulers and service delivery managers, who work to deliver reliable services while managing the challenges of passenger waiting times, disruption, and increasing roadworks across central, west and north-west London.

A reliance on limited data slowed effective decision-making

In order to understand and optimise schedule performance, Metroline relied on reports from Hyperion, Transport for London’s internal reporting system, alongside employee and customer feedback. Hyperion reports are static and descriptive, with limited ability to filter out anomalies (for example, abnormal traffic events and unexpected road closures). Without the capability to scenario plan or suggest solutions, the tool left users with limited data to action.

With roadworks in London more frequent and less predictable than ever, Andrew’s team needed faster, more reliable insights to adapt to disruptions and support rapid schedule adjustments. 

Before Cityswift

• Reports didn’t provide solutions, leaving teams with raw data only
• Growing roadworks and disruptions were difficult to manage with limited tools
• Lack of report standardisation, leading to questions from the authority and delays in approvals
• Schedulers spent significant time on manual analysis
• Limited evidence for requests and performance improvements

After Cityswift

• Suggested interventions and scenarios to support quicker decision-making
• Rapid disruption analysis helps prioritise routes and mitigation
• Shared reports with TfL create a common, trusted language and speed up decisions
• Schedulers and service delivery managers save time and focus on high-value routes
• Evidence-backed cases for additional resources and reliability improvements

“The volume of data and speed at which CitySwift analyses and generates different scenarios is invaluable. CitySwift is a reliable option for anyone considering a performance optimisation tool."

— Andrew Hunter, Chief Commercial Officer, Metroline London

Choosing CitySwift for speed, scale, and scenario modelling

Metroline selected CitySwift because of the platform’s ability to:

• Analyse vast volumes of data quickly to understand performance, giving the team time back each day.
• Model running time scenarios to test and apply interventions, simulating the impact of these interventions on performance and resource.
• Provide reliable, data-backed evidence to share with TfL.

CitySwift was recommended to the Metroline London team by the Metroline Manchester team, and a pilot was launched across routes at the Harrow Weald and Holloway garages in London. 

Faster analysis now supports scheduling, tenders, and roadworks management

Andrew highlights that CitySwift’s team brings not only technical expertise but also deep knowledge of buses and scheduling.

“Schedulers are highly skilled professionals, and so it is vital for them to work with partners that share their expertise. CitySwift understands the challenges and can show how the platform enhances their workflow.”

- Andrew Hunter, CCO at Metroline London

Schedulers use CitySwift daily, while service delivery managers use the platform to pinpoint the most valuable interventions. 

The Metroline team now use CitySwift for:

• Runtime analysis and PVR optimisation
• Tendering in London’s competitive market
• Creating mitigation schedules to counteract the adverse effects of roadworks and disruptions
• Reliability improvements across the network

The ability to quickly compare current route performance with suggested scenarios has transformed workflows and saved time across the team.

Significant improvements in Excess Wait Time (EWT)

As part of the pilot, Metroline achieved measurable reductions in passenger waiting times on key London routes:

• Route 140: Reduced EWT from 1.26 to 1.10 minutes (–0.16 / –12.7%) — moving the route into TfL’s bonus territory.
• Route 182: Reduced EWT from 1.53 to 1.26 minutes (–0.27 / –17.6%).

These improvements translate directly into a better passenger experience, with more reliable services and fewer delays.

Dramatic gains in punctuality

Metroline improved end-point punctuality across multiple routes:

• Route 140: +12% improvement
• Route 182: +31% improvement
• Route 186: +17% improvement

Better punctuality boosts driver satisfaction and retention, ensuring drivers complete trips as scheduled and receive the breaks they expect.

Creating a common language with the authority 

One of the biggest impacts has been how Metroline engages with TfL. Previously, the quality and style of reports depended heavily on the individual analyst and lacked standardisation, leaving TfL to question validity or interpret data differently.

Now, both operator and authority view the same trusted reports, reducing ambiguity and creating a common language for decision-making.

Metroline now works with TfL using a shared source of truth, aligning both operator and authority around trusted, standardised reports. This has:

• Reduced ambiguity and improved confidence in performance data
• Accelerated approvals for service changes and reliability improvements
• Fostered a more collaborative relationship, shifting discussions from static metrics to evidence-backed solutions

Continuing to impact the bottom-line

By using CitySwift’s disruption analysis and scenario modelling tools, Metroline has saved time for schedulers and service delivery managers by automating analysis. They have improved network reliability, delivering tangible benefits to passengers and drivers, and strengthened competitive positioning in London’s tendering process with data-backed evidence.