It's goodbye from us, but not from the man on the left, Tom, to be clear.

Well there it is. Your humble Mind the Gap blog is a year old. Has anyone brought cake?

Over that time, Tom and I (though mainly Tom, a prolific writer) have brought you analysis of all that goes on behind the scenes on our transport network, kept you in the loop about Tube strikes, BorisBikes, the new Routemaster, Crossrail and questioned the Mayor.

We hope we kept you well informed about all things travel with a forum for your opinions.

We may as well go out on a high (though that's our view). Mind the Gap officially closes with this post today as the BBC are re-jigging the way blogs are posted.

But fear not.

You may already be reading Tom's new shiny Correspondent page which has been going for a few weeks now. The same service, but different look.

You can read his latest entry here about the Connaught Tunnel being recycled for Crossrail. Feel free to comment on the size of his head on his homepage too, it really dominates.

And for the latest on getting around London, please carry on following @BBCTravelAlert on Twitter.

I was privileged enough to write the first post on Mind the Gap, and am lucky enough to be writing the last.

Thanks to every one of you for taking the time to read and comment on what we've posted over the last year and a week.

And thanks to Boc Ly who set the blog up to be one of the most read across the English Regions. Though I suppose the Tube strikes helped.

So, please mind the doors on your way out. As we know, obstructing them delays your journey.

'Til the next time,

Steve

Tweet me @SteveKPhillips

We have been inundated with a query from a Mind the Gap viewer, as to when the new DLR branch from Canning Town to Stratford International was opening.

Happy to help, we were wondering too.

I spoke to TfL, who said:

"The Stratford International extension will open to the public in late Spring 2011. This delay has been caused by joint venture contractors Skanska and Volker Rail taking longer than expected to progress some technical aspects of the project such as communications system design and installation.

While further work on these systems is required, test trains have started running on the extension. The new link will be ready well in advance of the 2012 Games and provide a lasting legacy to the East London community."

That help you?

By the way, Tom ferreted around for the reason why the Central Line was down this morning - a radio communications fault, according to sources.

You're up to date, I'm Steve Phillips...

Model of the new Routemaster. The new bus will be on the streets from 2012

Hi there everyone.

In early November, I previewed the brand new bus for London, the much anticipated replacement for the beloved Routemaster.

I thought it was very impressive and, judging by the comments left on the blog, many of you seemed to agree.

Now, though, we have a verdict from someone whose opinion really counts.

Here, for your post-festive pleasure, Radio 2's Ken Bruce offers his thoughts on the new bus in a very special guest blog.

Take it away, Ken...

By Ken Bruce, Radio Legend

I like it! There, I've said it - as the joint owner of a small stable of original Routemasters, I appreciate this may not be the response expected of me but this new bus does seem to represent the best of the old with the best of the new.

The external styling is impressive, breaking free of the angular "boxy" styles we've had to put up with until recent years, but then, traditionally in bus design functionality has taken precedence over appearance. At last though, it seems to have been realised it's possible to achieve both.

As to function, downstairs seating numbers, one the great plusses of the old RM, have had to be reduced to accommodate three doors and wheelchair/buggy spaces. But there are, in the words of the conductors of the past, plenty of seats upstairs and all trimmed in an attractive new version of traditional Routemaster tartan.

I'll be interested to see how often the famous rear platform is open in practice. I expect daytime Regent St and Oxford St services will operate that way, but how widespread will the practice be?

A crew member "on the back" is expensive and I fear that the rear door may not be open as often or as widely as perhaps the public may expect.

But the bus is very welcome; there will be more seats and better frequencies than the bendy bus, which was foisted on London passengers during that long period of collective denial at TfL, where its obvious deficiencies - the amount of valuable road space taken up, the lack of seats and the ease of fare evasion - were ignored.

It all goes to show yet again the value of planning for the future with a little imagination; had we had some, these buses could have been replacing Routemasters ten years ago.

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Here's a summary of the main points again, and you can read Tom's blog on the increases from October here.

Buses and Trams

• Oyster pay as you go fares increase by 10p to £1.30
• A single cash fare rises from £2 to £2.20

Tube, DLR, Overground

• The Zone 1 pay as you go fare rises by 10p to £1.90
• Oyster pay as you go fares travelling into Zone 1 in the evening rush hour are reduced to the off-peak rate
• The refundable deposit on a new Oyster card increased from £3 to £5.
• A Visitor Oyster card will cost £3.

Travelcard changes

One-Day Travelcards between Zones 2 and 6 are being withdrawn. Have a look at this picture I created to see which travelcard you will now need to buy:

Oyster Ticket Stops will no longer sell One Day Travelcards.

Maximum fare for not touching in/out

If you don't touch in and out on the Tube, DLR, London Overground and National Rail, you may be charged a maximum Oyster fare of up to £7.40.

Let me know what you think about the changes below.

Incidentally, travel overnight on New Year's Eve will be free, details on how to get about on our all singing/dancing travel guide.

Update: 4th January, 15.26

I had contact with a TfL spokesman since I posted the blog, who said...

Firstly, its important to note that the Z2-6 Travelcard was only used by a very small number of our customers - fewer than 6,000 passengers a day, including just 300 people during peak times. This is less than 0.2 per cent of the average 3.5 million journeys a day on the Tube.

Secondly, and importantly for Londoners and commuters, it is far cheaper to use Oyster pay as you go. For example, outside Z1, fares range from £1.30 to £2.50, therefore a passenger would need to make seven peak outside Z1 journeys to justify purchasing a Z1-6 Travelcard. Even so, Oyster will cap at the daily Travelcard price.

The Mayor, Boris Johnson, will be answering your questions on a special Mind The Gap post in the next couple of weeks and we want you to quiz him about the Tube, trains, trams, DLR, buses and roads.

He'll answer a selection of them right here on this electronic space.

Over to you, what do you want to ask Boris?

UPDATE: Tuesday 21 Dec

Thank you for all your transport questions for Boris Jonnson. We have been, to coin a topical expression, snowed under.

We have now selected a dozen questions and sent them off for the Mayor's consideration.

So, please, no more questions! We'll have his answers soon!

PS.

We're planning on having other guest Q&As and celebrity contributors on Mind the Gap over the next few weeks so watch this space!

What I saw today at the Acton Transport Museum Depot was - give or take a few tweaks - what we'll be seeing on the streets of London in 2012.

On first impressions the new (and as yet, unnamed) bus has a familiar modern shape at the front. But going to the back, the spirit of the Routemaster is there with the open platform at the rear, and the curve up to the roof on top.

Have a look at the gallery. By the way, it really is red. The lighting turned it orange!

But this bus for all its sleek design has to function as a bus.

It will carry 87 passengers far fewer than the 150 capacity that a bendy bus has, but the project team behind 'A New Bus for London' were at pains to say the new bus isn't a 'Bendy Bus Killer'.

Going inside, I was struck by the space - a far cry from the cramped conditions of the old Routemaster. With three doors including the open platform, and two staircases it seems designers have sacrificed seating for access. Though they have worked in space for disabled passengers.

You can enter through any door as you can with a Bendy, swipe your oyster and if you go upstairs you'll find another similarity with the Routemaster - the lack of head room.

All in all though, it's impressive and also ticks a lot of environmental boxes with its carbon emissions 40% less than a conventional diesel bus.

But can we afford it, especially with hard financial times ahead? Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy thinks we can in an interview with me at the depot.

So, what say you? Do we need this new bus? Should TfL be spending money on it? And what should it be called?!

So far we've had suggestions for the Olympic Bus, the Cosmo, The Londoner, the Route King and the Swoosh.

A lot of you came up with one that my colleague on TV, Alice Bhandhukravi put to the Mayor - was it going to be called the BorisBus.

Boris replied that we should ask our viewers what it should be named.

Though he may well think again before reinventing anymore transport modes beginning with 'B'.

Over to you.

Tweet me @SteveKPhillips

In China passengers can even surf the Web on planes!

Transport for London have partnered with BT in a six month trial to allow wi-fi access to commuters at Charing Cross station.

Important to note that you won't get it on the trains, but you'll be able to check emails and browse the web in the ticket hall and on the Bakerloo and Northern line platforms.

However, it is the first step in the direction of passengers being able to use the internet underground across the network, and has been mooted before (see my post on using your mobile for calling underground).

Some of you with smartphones may have picked up the network 'Free Public wi-fi' on the trains, but this doesn't lead anywhere (not in my experience certainly). I'd be interested to know what that is!

I'm sure a number of faithful readers would welcome this move. Is it a good thing? Isn't the Tube a safe haven from being contacted?

By the way, referring to the blog titIe I should stipulate that other websites are available. Just couldn't resist the word play...

Tweet me @SteveKPhillips

So the word's out.

Here are the headlines on what fares you'll be paying from next year...

• A single journey in Zone 1 on Oyster Pay As You Go goes up by 10p to £1.90, and to £1.40 peak time outside Zone 1.
• Single cash fares stay at £4 but it goes up to £5 for zones 2-5 from £3.50, a 42% increase on the Tube, London Overground and DLR.
• Two-zone weekly, monthly and annual Travelcards excluding zone 1 go up by 25%.
• Bus/Tram fares increase to £2.20 cash and £1.30 with an Oyster Card.

You can get the full list of increases from the statement released by TfL here.

Clearly some pretty heavy increases there, but are they too much?

Or have we been let off lightly in these cutting times, could it have been worse?

The team at BBC London were broadcasting travel news on all the conventional channels: radio, TV and on the website.

But in the age of social networking sites like Twitter in particular, travellers had the advantage of being able to share updates and advice on a faster and more local level.

Our twitter feed, @BBCTravelAlert is now an established hub for those on social media who can not only receive updates but also share them around. Over the strike, its updates were viewed and shared by over 61,000 people.

Last week I blogged on our interactive Tube strike map, a recent innovation where you can see the latest reports from Londoners and updates from us.

The technology is still developing, but as a principle it works. We were compiling stories from full line closures to how long some of you were waiting for a 95 bus.

Well over 100 reports were present on the map at any one time, and the page was visited by over 21,000 people.

We also posted feature-length travel bulletins that you could listen to at your leisure on the sound social network audioboo, and thee updates were listened to over 5,000 times over the last two strikes.

It proves that you don't need to wait for the information you need, however big or small - as it's you and us spreading the word.

Want to tell everyone of a shortcut from Manor House to Baker Street avoiding all the bother?

There is now a way of sharing all the vital, detailed information to get you to work, in addition to travel news that we and other broadcasters put out which gives you the broader big picture.

But we need your help.

Last month myself and social media consultant Claire Wardle set up a Tube Strike Crowdmap - a place for you and us to report all of your transport problems, alternatives and share tips such as where to find an empty BorisBike docking station, or a quiet bus route.

It really worked as an experiment last time, but as my colleague Claire writes in her blog, 'this time, we're serious'.

You can contribute to the map in three easy ways:

• Text the words 'LONDON STRIKE' and your message to 81333 (standard network rates apply).
• Email us at londontravel@bbc.co.uk
• Send a tweet including the hashtag #TubeStrike

Your report will then appear on the map.

You can also check where you are to see if there are any problems in the area, with clear catagories from public transport to roads and tips.

If you come across an overcrowded bus route or want to tip everyone off about a lovely boat ride in, put it on the map. We'll be adding the official information too.

So, let's get cracking - it really is the only way to tell the full story of the strike.

Pretty simple request really - have a look at this. It's the new website for London's travel news from ourselves and will replace the current one which sits at www.bbc.co.uk/london/travel.

The new version's main feature is the draggable map, sprinkled with incidents across the capital. This will sit alongside the more familiar list that you've been used to.

At the moment, the site is in 'beta' version which basically means 'trial', so now's the time to get your thoughts in about what you like or don't like.

Myself, I'm hoping that once the finished version is live it'll have a link to this blog (shameless promotion I know, that's me all over), plus links to travel stories similar to what we used to post on the old site (photo on the right).

I posted the link on our Twitter feed yesterday and the first opinions are favourable.

But I'm sending you, the jury, out. What's your verdict? Are we on the Road to Nowhere or have we taken the right turning? I'll stop now...

Have you hopped on board? How have you found it? Have you docked your bike successfully?

We've had reports of cyclists not being able to dock at full stations, and having to ride around in search of a free one.

And of course, we had the glitch on the Friday with bikes not being docked properly, forcing TfL to not charge on its launch day.

See Gareth Furby's report from the weekend:

Whatever your tale, it'd be good to hear them...

So earlier today I put this question on our Twitter feed...

'What would you describe as bad manners on the Tube or the buses?'

To coin a phrase, I was inundated by the responses.

Can you add to this list? Also, have you done of any of the list below, but don't see it as bad manners?

Breathe in, let the floodgates open:

• Starting to get on a tube before people have finished getting off
• Standing in the doorway and not moving to let others get off at a stop
• Coughing on someone
• Hot and smelly food
• Snogging
• Playing music on a speaker
• Loud headphones
• Phone keypad tones
• Feet on seats
• Bags on seats
• Not making room on seats so others can sit down
• Sitting on outside seat and not moving to let someone sit on inside seat
• Not giving up a seat for pregnant/elderly passengers
• Taking up a seat and a half
• Not washing or brushing teeth
• Body odour pushing on, pushing in
• Forcing buggies onto crowded buses
• Spitting
• Leaving chewing gum on the floor/seat
• Leaning/hugging on a pole when the tube is crowded so no one else can use it
• Walking up busy stairs against the flow.

Got anymore?

What makes us so bad mannered on the Tube?

If you read down the page it says:

He [The Mayor] said that if it eventually became possible to use mobile phones on trains, perhaps there would be "quiet carriages" - as on some mainline rail services - where the use of handsets would be discouraged.

Here is a photo of Mind the Gap's Tom Edwards talking on his mobile phone. No doubt he is talking to a very important source about a very important story. But should he be allowed to do so on the Tube?

Questioned at this year's State of London Debate about technological advances for the Tube, Mr Johnson said he was "on the side of progress, if we possibly can do it."

But he acknowledged the idea would not be "universally popular."

So, would you welcome using your mobile on the Tube? Let your family know you're on your way home?

Or would it become a removal of the last bastion of getting away from the hubbub of London life, with people bellowing "I'M ON THE TUBE! YES THE TUBE!!"?

Here are some of your replies so far on our Twitter feed:

@fionaleung Yes a brilliant idea! They should do it like in Japan where you are only allowed to text on your phone but not talk on it :)

@pjlewis I'd love to have data access in the tube, but not voice. Altho I doubt it's actually possibly to talk over the tube noise...

@roamingray No - too noisy for phone calls. And how would you use it? One hand on grabs, one full of bags etc...Bad Idea. Also, it would bring to an end one of the last excuses for not answering calls - I was underground!

What say you?

Ever had one of those journeys where you're being bounced around on the rails?

A number of you on Twitter have said that the DLR is one of the worst offenders for travel sickness:

@21five I have a nasty bruise on my back from standing next to a pole on the DLR yesterday and getting bounced around.

@emley73 Worst stretch for bounce is Blackwall to Poplar.

@hazeltsoiwiles YES. I go from Bow Church to Deptford Bridge quite often too and always feel dreadful by the time I get to Island Gardens.

@Becky_Williams I travel on the DLR every day, I'm always petrified about falling off my seat into the aisle because of all the bouncing!

@bohaynowell The Met line can make me feel like I should be wearing a sports bra, but it doesn't make me feel sick.

I've been on the DLR and Metropolitan line in the past myself and can testify for the over-exuberant wobbly-ness.

Have you ever felt travel sick on the buses, trains or Tube?