Metro secures tube and bus contract in London

Posted by Erina Lin on March 5, 2010 at 1:57 PM

Morning free paper Metro has secured the contract to distribute in the London Underground and at bus stations, MediaGuardian reported.

As the original 11-year deal will expire on 2 April, the new one will last for seven and a half years. The contract will allow free distribution at 250 tube stations and 14 bus stations in London, from 6 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. Monday to Friday.

It was thought that Metro had a bidding battle against News International's afternoon freesheet the London Paper, and probably Alexander Lebedev's London Evening Standard, and Richard Desmond's Express Newspapers.

"There are understood to have been three expressions of interest in the tender, but it is not known how many bids were submitted," MediaWeek reported.

"The revenue from this lucrative contract will go straight back into funding improvements to public transport in the capital, including the upgrade of the Tube. It will also fund carbon-cutting projects such as making our stations more energy efficient and will further encourage newspaper recycling with more recycling bins at key stations," said Richard Parry, interim managing director of London Underground, MediaGuardian reported.

Metro has a daily circulation of 1.3 million nationwide, including 726,000 from London, Press Gazette reported.