London Buses has introduced LED lighting at all of its roadside ticket machines, saving up to 75% of the energy used by conventional lighting.

Transport for London (TfL) says that LED lighting on a ticket machine uses 0.8W, compared to 32W for conventional lighting, a savings of 31.2W. Taken across 1,109 ticket machines operating 365 days a year, this results in a saving of 170 tons of CO₂ per year.

The introduction of LED lighting is part of London Buses’ continuing efforts to save energy and improve the passenger environment across the London bus network.

A further 33 ticket machines in London run on batteries, which do not provide enough power to support conventional lighting. Due to the lower power requirements of LED lighting, these machines will be lit for the first time.

TfL says that despite using less power, LEDs are much brighter than conventional lighting, making the machines easier to use. The LEDs also last a lot longer, ten years on average compared to just two years for conventional fluorescent bulbs, meaning lower maintenance and disposal costs.

Paul London, London Buses Ticket Technology Manager, said: “We’re always looking for ways in which new technology can help us decrease our impact on the environment, improve our passengers’ experience, and provide value for money. Introducing LEDs on ticket machines is a small change that’s part of a much bigger effort to make our operations more efficient and environmentally friendly.”