Gaps In The Number Sequence

Although the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street has been postponed, TfL are still keen to remove as many bus routes as possible from the area even though congestion has reduced significantly since a few years ago. The two latest victims are the 10 and 23, which have been merged to form one Hammersmith to Westbourne Park service, taking the latter number. Although it's only a trivial matter, this restructuring now means the sequence of numbered bus routes jumps from 9 to 11 and having a gap so early on is very irritating.

An Enviro 400H makes a rare appearance on the 10.

The 10 ran between Hammersmith and King's Cross, travelling through High Street Kensington, Knightsbridge, Oxford Street and the British Museum in the process. London United operated the service for just shy of a decade, using Scania OmniCity vehicles until 2014, when these were phased out in favour of New Routemasters. These buses were allocated to the service until its withdrawal and appearances of conventional vehicles after its conversion were rare - once or twice an ADL Enviro400H from the 27 sneaked out. The 10 ran every 8 minutes and had a high peak vehicle requirement for 23 vehicles, leaving a large void at Stamford Brook (V) garage. In compensation, the 391 has been transferred to this base from Fulwell (FW) garage, using ADL Enviro 200s rather than the Optare Versas which were allocated previously. Just after 1am on Saturday 24th November 2018, LT166 worked the last ever 10 service and it was very well attended by enthusiasts, whilst the new 23 (a 24-hour route) started just minutes later and led to many obtaining a money shot at Hammersmith of both services in action, never to be seen again.

LT162 is seen under the Oxford Street lights.

There are many problems with this change, in my opinion, and it has been executed very poorly. From my observations, right until the last day the 10 was easily one of the most oversubscribed services on Oxford Street, being consistently busy with tourists and commuters alike. It provided an array of well established links to Kensington and Hammersmith which were very popular and also served the British Museum, which is quite inconvenient to get to from the West End. Removing the service means that people simply have no choice but to switch to the tube, whilst the British Museum now has no bus service whatsoever, which is pretty disgraceful for such a major tourist attraction. TfL propose to send the number 14 route there next year, but it won't be anywhere near as useful since the service duplicates the Piccadilly Line which goes near the museum anyway! I don't see why, out of the three services from Oxford Circus to King's Cross, the two going via Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street should remain whilst the one uniquely serving Russell Square should go. A simple re-routing of the 73 or 390 wouldn't do any harm, surely? This obsession with removing routes from Oxford Street is now unnecessary - severe congestion is quite rare nowadays and ultimately sending services to the shops brings in money, it's as simple as that. The 6 was sent away from Oxford Street last year and lost 2.5 million annual passengers. I wonder why.

The 23 was an icon on Oxford Street, serving so many tourist attractions.

In happier times, the 23 ran from Westbourne Park to Liverpool Street, via Paddington, Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square and St Paul's, being incredibly popular with tourists as a method of crossing Central London and sightseeing simultaneously. In 2017 the route was curtailed to Aldwych, no longer serving Ludgate Circus, St Paul's Cathedral or Bank and with the latest changes the service omits Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus too. There is no denying that usage on the 23 has declined over the past few years, but some of the now missing fundamental links are shambolic.  Piccadilly Circus to Paddington and Fleet Street lacks a direct bus service and with the curtailment of route 25, there's now not a single bus service from Oxford Circus which heads into the City, with the exception of the 55 which skirts around the outside. On Oxford Street itself there is increased strain on the 139, which has the difficult task of being the only route to Aldwych and Waterloo from the West End, whilst the 7 is now the only bus heading to Paddington and Ladbroke Grove. The new, merged service is a bodge job which stuck the outer ends of two routes together even though they're completely irrelevant to each other and aren't symbiotic in any way.

An Enviro 400H is seen working the new service at Westbourne Park.

Route 23 now runs between Hammersmith and Westbourne Park, via High Street Kensington, Marble Arch, Paddington and Ladbroke Grove. It is 9 miles in length, having a peak vehicle requirement for 24 buses which satisifies the 8 minute frequency and taking up to 87 minutes to complete in rush hour. The Hammersmith & City Line does the exact same journey seven times faster. Its allocation remains the same as before, with a mixture of diesel and hybrid Enviro 400s working the service, along with occasional MCV EvoSeti vehicles from the 13. The main problem with the new route is how indirect it is - most of its links are covered by much faster services. From Hammersmith and Kensington to Ladbroke Grove the 295 and 52 provide a direct link much more effectively, whilst the 27 connects these areas to Notting Hill and Paddington via a much quicker routeing. Even the one brand new link created, Knightsbridge to Paddington, was already achievable by taking a 36 or 414 and adding a five minute walk to the end, which is probably quicker to undertake than sit in traffic. The new 23 is incredibly slow, having a loose schedule and trundling around at 5mph everywhere. Passenger usage so far is poor, with most people along the Hammersmith to Hyde Park corridor actively letting go the 23s in favour of the more familiar number 9 service. People from Portobello have stopped using the 23 since it no longer goes to Central London, with usage only remaining stable for local trips around Westbourne Park. The route is hopelessly unreliable, going through so many traffic hotspots, which doesn't make it attractive for new users at all. I can't see the new service lasting more than a couple of years, emphasising how much of a failure this change is.

The new, fallen state of the 27.

Given that New Routemasters aren't the most adaptable vehicles out there, finding a new home for 23 of them was never going to be easy. With the impending curtailment to Hammersmith, the peak vehicle requirement for route 27 will match that of the 10 and as it is also based at Stamford Brook (V) garage, there was no need to introduce them to a new base either. After a re-evaluation, the 27 has somehow passed the test which allows operation of the longer New Routemasters, even if it involves completely ignoring the roundabout at Chiswick Business Park and simply driving over the hump in the middle instead. As the route hasn't been shortened yet, a few ADL Enviro400H vehicles still work the service each day to make up the numbers, although the route has almost converted fully and I'd encourage grabbing a farewell ride end-to-end as soon as possible, as you won't be able to appreciate leafy Chiswick or indeed the rest of the route with proper windows for much longer.

Unfortunately the E3 won't operate with Scania OmniCity vehicles for much longer.

As the ex-27 ADL Enviro400H vehicles are still fairly young, their life at Stamford Brook (V) garage will continue, albeit on the E3 service instead. Since this route joined London United in 2014, its operated with the Scania OmniCity vehicles that used to work the 10, but as a non-standard type which are ageing rapidly almost every operator in London is determined to withdraw them as soon as possible. It's rumoured that these particular Scanias do have a future ahead of them, replacing slightly older versions of the same model, but in a few years the once numerous type will be extinct within London. As not all of the E40Hs are blinded for the E3, in addition to vehicle shortages due to fires and crashes, around six Scanias are still in regular use at Stamford Brook (V) garage, but once the 27 fully converts the type will be gone completely.

ADH45002 is seen at the end of an E3 journey at Greenford Broadway.

In an attempt to remove the Scanias as quickly as possible, two slightly more interesting ADL Enviro400H vehicles have temporarily been drafted in to work the E3. One of these is a loan from Shepherd's Bush (S) garage, which usually works the 94, whilst the other is a demonstrator vehicle that did work the 27 originally, but is not required for the E3 PVR and is actually older than the Scania vehicles it's temporarily replacing.

As you can see, there's been quite a big fall-out as a result of the 10/23 changes, but whether it'll all be worth it in the long run is a question worth asking. Thanks for reading and stay safe!

The Great Fire Of Orpington

On Thursday 22nd November 2018, a horrific incident occurred at Orpington (MB) garage early in the morning, where a fire broke out and engulfed eleven buses in the process. Fortunately, no one was injured as a result, but I don't doubt that it was a very traumatising experience for both workers at the garage and local residents who were undoubtedly disturbed by such an alarming event.

Unfortunately the Mercedes Citaros at this base were affected quite badly.

It is believed that the fire started with one Enviro 400, but then spread to many other vehicles. The fire brigade were forced to spend a couple of hours tackling the blaze due to its severity, but all was under control by around 8:30am. Eleven buses are no longer roadworthy and have been completely written off:

E60, E94, E211, E224, EN33, EN37, EH18, MEC54, MEC54, MEC60, SEN21

Recovering from such a demoralising and difficult event certainly isn't an easy job, but Metrobus must be credited for their excellent efforts in restoring a full service by mid-morning, something not even the locals expected. Having a fleet of buses awaiting formal entry into service (not actually allocated to any routes at the time) certainly helped, but a more permanent solution did have to be drafted in post December 8th.

One of the survivors, E95, passes through Bromley South on a route 320 journey into the countryside.

 Most of the casualties were in the form of Enviro 400s, with seven allocated to routes 51, 320 and 353 completely destroyed, although the former service wasn't even operated by the garage at the time. EN33 and EN37 had been recently purchased by Go-Ahead, with these buses previously working Tower Transit services in North-East London. They received a full refurbishment, with the snazzy modified moquette to complement the First poles, but never entered service under the new operator as a result of the fire. Three buses allocated to the 320 were destroyed (two diesels, one hybrid), whilst two older E400s which were only recently transferred in for the 353 also didn't make it. Out of the four single deckers which were wiped out, three of them were 12m Mercedes Citaros, a fairly unique and very popular type in London, which were allocated to the 358, whilst a solitary Enviro 200 rostered for the R11 also ceased to exist.

If it wasn't for the fire, this type would be extinct within London.

Given that full-length 12 metre buses are quite rare in London, finding appropriate replacements for the 358 victims should've been very difficult. Coincidentally though, the only other route operated by Go-Ahead with diesel 12m vehicles was lost to London United in September, which meant the Scania OmniCity single deckers had no work and really should've been withdrawn. One did transfer over to the 358 anyway as a spare, but after the fire two more were drafted in and are now the official replacements for the Citaros. They fit in rather nicely as the 358 did previously have a full allocation of these buses and it's certainly good news for enthusiasts, who were gutted when the 293 contract expired and the type were about to leave forever. No newer vehicles have been ordered specifically for the 358 yet, so these could be sticking around for a while, which gives more variety and means I can spend more time riding some of my favourite single deckers in the capital.

The fire also meant more double deckers on the R9, which made it much easier for me to intercept one!

A much more complex job was finding replacements for the deficit of seven Enviro 400s, especially in the long-term. Before the fire, the eleven refurbished ex-Tower buses were sitting around doing nothing, but for over a week almost all of them hit the road prematurely to make up the numbers.

Routes 320 and 353 received their fair share, but a few also worked the 126 and R9, which helped cover for the solitary loss in the R11 fleet by freeing up single deckers. This solution seemed almost perfect, but it could only work for so long as on Saturday 8th December, the intensive route 51 would commence its operation at Orpington (MB) garage and it would be pretty embarrassing to run only half the service on a first day. Although this operator seemed adamant on removing all their Scania machinery, going back on their footsteps was probably the only option. It also resurrected another extinct bus type and one which I really regretted not riding during their time in service. Conveniently I was bailed out here, but generally as a rule try not to leave things until the last minute - you might not always get a second chance!

A Scania OmniDekka is seen on Orpington High Street.

These Scania OmniDekka vehicles, being the only ones in London to have an N230/UD configuration as opposed to the more commonly found N94/UD variant on this body, previously worked route 405 in Croydon and were earmarked for withdrawal after their stint on the route. However, they have found a new home at Orpington (MB) garage which allows them to see service for a short while longer.
Generally, the 320 is keeping the remaining Enviro 400s, whilst the 353 has the more interesting allocation. Most of them are Scania OmniDekkas, although the last Scania Olympus at Go-Ahead also works the route regularly, along with a 06-plate Trident E400 which should've been withdrawn after the 196 was lost to Abellio. Given that Go-Ahead have now purchased a further eight Enviro 400s, this time from Abellio, there is only limited time for having fun on the 353. All three exotic types I've mentioned are worth going out for and as the route is really relaxing, making more than one trip on it per day won't do any harm. Once a new allocation is sorted, three types will be gone from the Go-Ahead London bus scene just like that.

Although the contract changes on Saturday 8th December 2018 don't have much to do with the fire itself, they do portray the development of Orpington (MB) garage so the relevant ones will be included here.

Under the old...

 The R5 and R10 services definitely fall under the eccentric end of the London bus spectrum. They both originate at Orpington Station and follow the same route until Green Street Green, where the R5 undertakes a complete clockwise circuit, with the R10 doing the same thing but anticlockwise. Once the loop (and a shared double run in the middle) is complete, both services return to Orpington Station via the same routeing as before. Rural settlements and villages are served within the circuit, including Cudham, Halstead, Knockholt and Pratt's Bottom, which are home to extremely tight roads generally surrounded by woodland or large houses. You might get a convenience store or a pub if you're lucky. Both services run every 2.5 hours and after combining them a 75 minute frequency is provided, which is basic but probably adequate considering the usage levels. Driving the R5 and R10 requires a great level of skill, involving both community spirit and the ability to tackle challenging road conditions. Stagecoach London, under the old contract, managed this very well and the enthusiast community were saddened that the dedicated team of drivers were, in most cases, not transferring with the route. Bromley (TB) garage operated the routes with short Enviro 200s, although occasionally an MMC model would appear as seen above. Whilst there weren't too many problems with the service, Go-Ahead are able to provide a much closer base at Orpington (MB), reducing costs associated with dead running to the terminus. Although the ability to obtain buses for the cheapest possible price is usually a significant factor, forking out an existing solitary vehicle probably wasn't too difficult for even an operator on the other side of London.

Luckily this shot worked out, otherwise I would've had to wait for a very long time to try again!

Metrobus are very experienced with the R5 and R10, having operated the services before for several years and even though it was expected that a solitary mini E200 would transfer over to meet the vehicle requirement, there are enough compatible buses in the existing pool for this to not be necessary. The operator commenced their contract on Saturday 8th December 2018 and predictably there haven't been any issues with the quality of service provided. Funnily enough, the vehicles now used on the R5 and 10 are older than those under Stagecoach, but they're still in a good condition so shouldn't be too much of a burden for the locals. For me, the most important factor is that the drivers continue to interact properly with the regular users of the service as I'm sure they really appreciate it and ultimately their enthusiasm makes these rare services as special as they are. I wish Go-Ahead the best for the next five years and hopefully they do develop sincere relationships with everyone living in the Kent villages which somehow deserve a London bus service.

Damn lamp post again...

A much more substantial loss for Stagecoach (and gain for Go-Ahead) was the 51 change on Saturday 8th December. Under the former operator, it was based at Plumstead (PD) garage and ran with an eclectic mix of vehicles ;  Scania OmniCitys were the most common type. Occasionally, older Trident ALX400s would turn up in addition to newer kit like E400 hybrids and Gemini 3 B5LHs. The route itself runs between Orpington Station and Woolwich, essentially acting as a South-East London long-distance trunk service and is becoming ever-popular. Intermediate destinations include St Mary Cray, Sidcup, Welling and Plumstead Common, although it spends a surprisingly large amount of time in residential areas rather than crawling through town centres. A peak vehicle requirement for 19 vehicles satisfies the 12-mile long route, with typical end-to-end journey times being around 80 minutes. A 10 minute frequency is provided from Monday to Saturday, with a slight reduction to 4 buses per hour on Sundays and during the evening. Considering how challenging this route is to operate, Stagecoach London managed it remarkably well and its a shame to see genuinely good operators lose out on so much work to those who become ever-dominant but sometimes sacrifice the quality of service in the process.

This 51 was curtailed to Perry Hall Road but somehow ended up at the Walnuts Centre, with baffled passengers on board!

Go-Ahead have continued with the theme of variety for the new 51 contract, with a split allocation consisting of the ex-Tower Transit E400s which you've already seen, along with Wrightbus Gemini 2 B9TL vehicles, which have been fully refurbished but were with the company all along. This vehicle choice was rather interesting as it introduced a brand new type to the garage, but as long as all the relevant type training takes place it's fine by me. Although the frequency remains the same, under the new contract the 51 has received a PVR cut by two, which means less recovery time at either end and is presumably the method operators like Go-Ahead use to undercut others in the market, leading to a

cheaper bid overall. At the moment, I'm sceptical that this tighter schedule will be executed successfully in the long-term as the service provision at the moment has been woeful. I understand that it's only the first month and it does mean there's a good chance for Go-Ahead to improve, but seeing frequent gaps of over 30 minutes doesn't bode well for the future and is likely to irritate regular passengers. What's more concerning is the sheer number of curtailments being pulled out, emphasising the lack of stand time, with destinations including "Woolwich Covered Market", which I'm not even sure exists (local help please) and even more commonly Orpington Perry Hall Road, where sometimes 50% of Southbound buses end up terminating. Whether a new schedule is implemented in the future or not is hard to say, but hopefully when the latest performance figures are released they should act as a wake up call for Metrobus to sort this out - the 51 is a major arterial route and messing it up will have dire consequences.

Is that Abellio in Orpington?

I briefly mentioned earlier that some additional Enviro 400s have been purchased by Go-Ahead as permanent replacements for the fire victims, this time coming from Abellio. Most of them are off for a refurbishment first, which might even result in a third variation of the mainstream Go-Ahead moquette, but a couple have emerged prematurely as spares, only on the 51 so far. This means that for a limited amount of time, some vehicles in the heart of South-East London are running around in full Abellio livery, minus the logos, which isn't something you'll see again for a very long time (rail replacements don't count). Whether these vehicles will stay on the 51 or move to the 353, which is technically where they're meant to be, is unclear, but I'm sure they'll be a welcome addition to the fleet at Orpington (MB) garage and does make their assortment of vehicles, on average, slightly more modern too.

I wish Go-Ahead all the best in operating routes 51, R5 and R10, as well as a full recovery from the fire, which seems to be going very well at the moment.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Random Observations - November 2018

You know the drill with these...

The number plate here contains the code for the operator Hallmark took over from. Coincidence?

Although the bus pictured above clearly isn't working a TfL service, this change has occurred in the London area. Hallmark Coaches, an operator in Surrey who recently took over a bunch of ex-Abellio routes, have decided to order some brand new vehicles to complement their recent successes. The previous allocation was arguably much more fascinating, with a mixture of Scania OmniCity SDs in addition to Wright Eclipses, with the latter type being impossible to find on the TfL network. The replacement Wrightbus Streetlites entered service in August and unfortunately you can't track them down on LVF, but now a good number should be out and about regardless. They contain a fairly generic interior and are short wheel forward variants, bringing a considerably decrease in the available capacity compared to the former long single deckers, although usually on non-TfL services this isn't a problem. The best place to ride one without having to travel too far or indeed pay a fare is around the Heathrow area on route 555 ; I would advise taking it between Terminal 4 and Central Bus Station or vice versa, as at Hatton Cross drivers are often reluctant to allow passengers on board with the plethora of TfL services also providing the link. I found this out the hard way.

Sadly this route is no longer with us...

London boasted a fairly extensive network of "900-series" mobility bus routes only a few years ago, but their viability has been questioned by TfL who have been gradually withdrawing them, meaning we are now down to just one. The latest victim was route 965, which would've passed years ago if it wasn't for protests from the residents - since then TfL have decided on a new policy to ignore most complaints by the looks of it. It was actually one of the most frequent mobility services available, providing a single return journey on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It was even re-routed to serve more uncharted territory only a couple of years ago to replace a woefully infrequent non-TfL service around Surbiton. The bus used to leave Riverhill at around 10 in the morning and return to Kingston Sainsbury's around three hours later, serving Tolworth, Lovelace Gardens and Surbiton in the process. Interestingly, the Sainsbury's stand is now vacant at Kingston, whilst Riverhill residents face a 15-20 minute walk for their nearest bus service. This terminus was very odd, being an extremely quaint mobile home facility surrounded by beautiful woodlands and having an eerily peaceful atmosphere. Access to it was through a very narrow country lane which buses really struggled with, although from what I've heard locals really appreciated having this lifeline available to them. My journey was fairly busy into Kingston on one random Friday morning in August - during its existence the route ran from Tolworth (TV) garage with London United providing some sort of Enviro 200 for the duty, either from the K2 or K4 allocation. Whilst this route was certainly an enjoyable ride, I do prefer the 969 and I'm really glad that it holds the title of being London's last mobility service. However, with the recent consultation regarding the re-routing of the 110 around Whitton, I imagine the 969 is under threat too, so get over there pronto before it's too late...

Congrats to the passengers at the top for their fifteen minutes of fame.

The annual Notting Hill Carnival always throws up a load of unusual manoeuvres as a result of the extensive road closure around this area. A declining number of special suffixed "X" services run over the bank holiday weekend to ferry passengers to and from the event, although lots of changes also occur to the "normal" bus routes, which are either sent on hectic diversions, split into two or given frequency increases. An example of the latter is shown here, with the 328 having a bunch of additional buses allocated due to its proximity to the Notting Hill area. This also resulted in some rare workings, which Tower Transit like to avoid, such as the MCV EvoSeti on the 328. Ever since these buses joined Westbourne Park (X) garage, bar their trial runs on the 23 they have refused to venture away from their allocated 13 service, so seeing a load on other services was certainly something worth reporting about. During the carnival, approximately 50% of 328s ran between Harrow Road and Golders Green, essentially acting as a supplementary service, whilst the other half bravely soldiered on to Chelsea World's End, taking an extremely lengthy diversionary route around Shepherd's Bush, which for two days only did offer this area a much more direct link to Golders Green than what the 260 offers at present!

Messed this up completely because of the sun - I will return for a better picture some day!

 As the agonising process of fleet standardisation continues at an alarming rate, we're starting to see more and more eccentric types disappear under the radar, in such a short space of time too. For this paragraph, our focaliser is the Scania Olympus double deckers operated by Go-Ahead London, which were found at Barking (RR) garage for school services, in addition to Orpington (MB) garage for use on the 353. Although this type of bus was my favourite in London, from an engineer's perspective they were probably some of the most hated vehicles in the fleet, with maintenance being a nightmarish task. These buses were also fuel guzzlers, so their economic viability could also be questioned. Nonetheless, they offered variety on the bus scene and to see them replaced by, in comparison, fairly monotonous ADL Enviro 400s is a sad sight. For the 353, these are 07/08-reg Trident models sourced from various garages, including Camberwell (Q), whilst the buses have grown accustomed to the relaxed allocation policy at Metrobus fairly quickly. Realistically they probably only have a few years left in London service, with a more permanent solution being required for the 353, but for now they are definitely nothing to complain about. Unfortunately, a couple of these buses have received a rather abrupt and premature exit, including the vehicle pictured above, due to the horrific fire at Orpington garage on Thursday morning which destroyed 11 vehicles in total. Luckily, no injuries were sustained and due to the skill of the operator as well as the availability of newly transferred E400s, a full service was achieved just hours after the incident occurred.

Looks quite fresh for a teenage bus doesn't it!

One of the more bizarre recent innovations involves a Dart Pointer which was withdrawn from service prematurely a few years ago. Magtec have converted this bus to a completely electric vehicle and the project took just shy of three years. It re-entered service on Friday 17th August 2018 on route 312, where it runs alongside Optare MetroCity single deckers which also use electric technology. Riding this vehicle was a really odd experience, with the interior being a juxtaposition in itself - there's evidence of the brand new installations such as wires dangling across the ceiling, but the interior lighting is filthy! Having a pretty much silent bus with such rattly bodywork in addition to doors which almost slam shut was almost hilariously oxymoronic, but it's great to see these old gems having an opportunity to last just that little bit longer. Unfortunately, after a promising first week or so, appearances started to become erratic and its most recent history includes a twenty-five day break, three days on the road, fifteen days off, four days on the road and now almost another month has elapsed since this vehicle was last seen in service. Hopefully, these teething problems aren't to the detriment of the bus's future as I was really looking forward to perhaps seeing more of these around, but at the end of the day it is new technology so we shouldn't expect too much!

Even more electricity...

Electric bus trials have become increasingly common as of late, but they're always more interesting when entering service with a company that doesn't already have any buses of this type, as it introduces electric vehicles to a route for the first time. Recently, the 23 was graced with the technology for a trial lasting roughly 50 days, which saw an Optare Metrodecker EV operate from Westbourne Park (X) garage. This vehicle had seen service in London before, albeit under Go-Ahead London on route 36. Its appearances were pretty consistent, with no particularly long periods of absence, perhaps suggesting that the recent order of this type by Metroline for the 134 was a wise move after all. The bus was pretty unique, having an unusually curved bodywork as well as a kidney-shaped window at the rear, which is something I've never seen before. Its interior was welcoming with a red and orange colour scheme, whilst the sounds produced were not dissimilar to that of the MetroCity single decker. Overall, this electric double decker seemed much more refined than the BYD equivalents ploughing up and down the 98 and I certainly look forward to seeing more than one of these things in action.

Looks just like the allocation, no?

Another type which has been demonstrated a lot is the Wrightbus Streetdeck "micro-hybrid", with one of these trial buses pictured above. It runs alongside fellow Wrightbus hybrids which make up the allocation, although they are Volvo B5LHs as opposed to an integral product. Unusually, this demonstrator has turned up in full London United livery, suggesting that it'll be staying for a while. It is based at Park Royal (RP) garage and works route 18, although does seem to enjoy taking long holidays away from service. Based on my brief ride on this vehicle, it did seem much more sprightly compared to the examples currently on the 44, essentially sounding like a speedy Wrightbus Streetlite, except with much higher-pitched whines to make the engine just a tad more annoying. My driver was really going for it though and it'll be interesting to see if this trial is deemed a success and whether RATP decide to order the type en masse. There's a similar vehicle to this at Norwood (N) garage working Arriva London routes there, but unfortunately it seems to have taken a liking to the school 690 service as of late.

New and classic Routemasters side by side at Hampstead Heath.

On Friday 9th November 2018, Metroline very kindly decided to operate a free service on route 24 with their own RML903, an AEC Routemaster, with donations instead of fares to raise money for the poppy appeal. It ran alongside the regular service for pretty much the whole day and was extremely popular with enthusiasts and ordinary passengers alike, with both frequently taking photos of this unordinary event. I took a brief ride from Hampstead Heath to Camden Town and, as ever, the enthusiasm from the members of crew on board was exceptional, offering a truly world-class service which the regular bus routes can only dream of achieving. On Friday 16th November, the same bus was used on the number 4 in order to raise money for children in need, which I'm sure was also a great success. There's was also a running day with several Routemasters on Sunday 25th November between Moorgate and Barnet - timetable here. It's quite rare for me to show up at these events, but they're honestly so much more fun than you might initially think and if you're able to I would definitely recommend them. 

Continuing the poppy theme...

I've always been really disorganised in regards to snapping the buses will all-over-ads for the poppy appeal, although this year I decided to get my act together and obtain some photographs of the ones which won't be possible next year. Whilst you might initially not consider the 88 to be an endangered route and indeed it is not, its taking a slightly unconventional move and losing its allocation of New Routemasters in favour of ADL Enviro400Hs instead - ironically these used to work the 88 pre-conversion. When the route is merged with the C2 next year (no longer serving Warren Street but being extended via London Zoo to Parliament Hill Fields), the long wheelbase NRMs won't be able to navigate the tricky roundabout at the new Northern terminus, which justifies the removal of these horrid buses. I do have mixed feelings about this consultation - the C2 is certainly underused since its removal from Victoria and merging it with the 88 definitely isn't a bad idea, although the prospect of not having a direct link between Oxford Circus and Warren Street/Mornington Crescent is a tad irritating. The journey to the former destination will still be possible by bus via routes 73 and 390, but going via Tottenham Court Road does take so much longer it's probably quicker to walk. I've always thought about diverting the 134 to Oxford Circus via the fast Great Portland Street route instead, but that costs money so it won't happen. A bonus of this change, though, is that the 88 finally gets its proper buses back and does have the chance to re-enter the top 10, at a time when so many other services are falling down. Exciting times(!)

Is that a third set of wheels?!?!?!?!

Admittedly, this post has been overwhelmed with demonstrator vehicles, but this one definitely beats the rest in terms of drama. The enthusiast community were overjoyed when the announcement revealed Go-Ahead London would be trialling a tri-axle double decker at Camberwell (Q) garage - a type of bus which TfL haven't permitted for years and years. Theoretically, introducing them on routes where length isn't a problem is a very practical idea, offering a higher capacity and even allowing frequency reductions in some cases whilst the overall number of seats provided stays the same, therefore saving money. The vehicle itself is a BCI Excellence model, which has been made suitable for service through a Vantage hybrid conversion, but it'll be interesting to see if this bus proves itself as so far the other Vantage buses have been a complete disaster and hopelessly unreliable. It is extremely sophisticated especially for a TfL bus, with no grab poles but high-backed lazzerini seats and a snazzy blue interior. The iBus screen has superior capabilities, there are phone holders, USB charging and an air conditioning unit available, although this doesn't seem to work very effectively. There are also beeping sensors which detect when the bus is too close to pedestrians and all the features it possesses are advertised on the outside of the bus.

Its entry into service was far from smooth, however. Despite showing up at Camberwell (Q) garage in the summer, it ended up back in the workshop countless times due to various problems including those relating to the braking system. Initially, the plan was to use this vehicle on the peak-hours only X68 service, but due to its crosslinked routes being inappropriate for these long vehicles, the 12 has been chosen instead. This does cause problems as the tri-axle does not, unlike the normal allocation of New Routemasters, have open boarding or indeed three doors. However, the 12 is still a very busy route and it should be appropriate for operation with these high capacity vehicles. TA1, which is ironically the code for the vehicle, does have those annoying Hanover LED displays which flicker like crazy, so if you can't adjust the shutter speed to low levels try to snap the bus at night. It's also worth noting that the 12 won't be serving Oxford Circus until December due to the closure of Westminster Bridge - it's currently curtailed at Whitehall. From a passenger experience, the tri-axle is not like any other double decker around, with the high specification interior being a shock for many. Its engine is quite intriguing - sometimes it's almost completely silent but at other times it sounds like there's a drill in the rear compartment, but as long as it works fine then that's tolerable.

Whilst the BCI Excellence does have its quirks and may not be the wisest choice for mass orders, it would be brilliant to see tri-axles making a return to London.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

In Summary: Autumn 2018

Today's heavily delayed publication is essentially merging around four posts into one, taking you on a whistle-stop tour of all the significant changes over the past couple of months. As this post is a first of a kind for me, the formatting will be slightly different too, but think of this as more of a recap rather than examining the content in as much detail as usual.

East London - 15th September:

 In an attempt to make the 25, currently London's busiest bus route, more simpler to understand, on Saturday 15th September 2018 all of its short, alternate trips to Mile End were withdrawn. This also meant an overall frequency reduction for the 25 - it now runs every 8 minutes between Oxford Circus and Ilford with no scheduled curtailments. However, depriving the extremely busy Romford Road corridor of eight buses per hour is simply a no-no, so instead route 425 (formerly Clapton to Stratford via Mile End) has been extended to Ilford in place of the short trips on the 25, at an improved ten minute frequency. Needless to say, this reduces to every 12 on Sundays and evenings. Although the 425 does now provide some new long-distance links, reliability has been awful since the extension as the route is quite lengthy now, whilst the 25 has been struggling since with buses as rammed as they were in the good old days of 2014. The chaos resulting from making Stratford Gyratory two-way in recent times hasn't helped, but hopefully reliability can start to improve soon and the potential in the 425, which hasn't really been utilised since its introduction, can be fulfilled.

With a 7-8 minute Monday to Saturday frequency, the D6 is quite substantial for a single deck route, being very busy too. It used to go to Hackney Central, which was even more useful, but now runs between Ash Grove and Crossharbour via Poplar and Mile End. Go-Ahead used to run this service from Silvertown (SI) garage, predominantly with 61-reg ADL Enviro 200s, but later on some ex-Metrobus examples of the same type also appeared. The short length didn't present too many operational challenges, although the buses were certainly a little knackered towards the end of the contract. Now, they're being used on the 276 service, but there are still an awful lot of spares lying around.

CT Plus commenced operation on Saturday 15th September, from Ash Grove (HK) garage which is conveniently right next to the Northern terminus. A batch of brand new stop-start ADL E200 MMCs were ordered and entered service prematurely on the W13, so enough were delivered for a full turnout on day one.
Despite some typical first day syndrome, since then CT Plus have risen to the challenge and performed extremely well on the D6, with an almost perfect service over the past couple of weeks. If they keep this up, it really proves what smaller companies are capable of. Conveniently for them, this type of bus already exists at the base, in the form of the 17-reg MMCs currently allocated to the W13 and these have started to make regular appearances too. On the first day passengers were a fan of the "posh" interior, although the violent stop-start technology probably isn't so appealing. My bus, pictured on the right, had some rear door issues on day one, but luckily this didn't cause any infuriating delays and we always managed to get moving again eventually.

©EastLondoner, don't use without their permission.

The enthusiast community have also been impressed to find CT Plus regularly using double deckers, in the form of E40H Citys, on the D6. This not only helps with the crowds this route often receives, but also makes the journey through fascinating parts of inner-East London much more enjoyable. Although these workings haven't been co-operative for me, never appearing on Saturdays, I do hope to seize this opportunity as soon as possible, which makes the D6 change even more of a thumbs up from me. It already received an 8/10 on the single deck model, which is something of a rarity.

This route has already featured on my blog in the Isle Of Dogs post, although now the D8 has received another moment of fame due to Go-Ahead losing the service. It previously ran from Silvertown (SI) garage with a batch of rather tired Scania OmniCitys, which still proudly displayed Metrobus logos until the end of the contract. The D8 runs between Stratford and Crossharbour, via Bromley-By-Bow, Poplar and Canary Wharf, with a 12 minute Monday to Saturday frequency that reduces to 3 buses per hour on Sundays and during the evening. Bar the state of the allocation, there weren't too many complaints about the former operator on the D8 - with an arguably superfluous peak vehicle requirement for nine buses there weren't too many difficulties bar traffic congestion on the A12. Loadings have picked up significantly since this routeing was established, but seeing the D8 retained with double deckers whilst the D6 missed out (or so we thought) was still viewed as unfair by the enthusiast community. Nonetheless, it's a brilliant route so I'm glad I can still enjoy it from the top deck.

Tower Transit assumed operation on Saturday 15th September, using existing Wrightbus Gemini 2 B9TLs which were freed from the 25 reduction. The other half of these went to the 425 and its PVR increase following the extension to Ilford. Despite the vast collection of double deck vehicles found at Lea Interchange (LI) garage, no other types have appeared on the D8 so far, presumably because none of them are blinded, but hopefully in the distant future we'll be able to find some variety. The service was pretty shoddy on day one and due to the nightmarish state of Stratford at the moment some sub-standard operational levels at the moment can be deemed acceptable - when the traffic hasn't been so much of an issue the operator have been doing rather well, which is a promising sign for the next five years.

Havering - 29th September:

An iconic type on the final route allocated them.

Running between Romford Queen's Hospital and County Park Estate, via Hornchurch, you may initially connote the 193 with anything but fame. However, it became something quite significant within the enthusiast community towards the end of its time at Go-Ahead, as it was the last route allocated Dart Marshalls, which are an extremely popular type. They weren't looked after properly though and as a result of their shocking reliability levels,
some other rare types also appeared on the route, including Esteems, Evolutions and Pointers, all of which are on the verge of extinction. One Marshall does actually live on at Northumberland Park (NP) garage on the 192 and is in a much better state. With the 193 being nowhere near its home garage at River Road (RR), along with the poor reliability regarding vehicle presentation and service quality, it was inevitable Go-Ahead would lose the service. Much to the fury of bus enthusiasts, the last ever Go-Ahead 193 was worked with the most boring vehicle rostered for the route - a clapped out Enviro 200 which was in a dire condition and seemed to appear jet black from the rear, which does I guess make a fitting end to a contract full of neglection.

The new, albeit boring, allocation of the 193.

Under the new contract, a peak vehicle requirement for 11 vehicles satisfies the 7 mile long route, which typically takes around 40 minutes to complete end-to-end. A 10 minute frequency is provided from Monday to Saturday, which halves to three buses per hour on Sundays and during the evening - this is a worse service level than before but that's what happens when a route is upgraded to a full allocation of dual door buses in this climate. Saturday 29th September 2018 saw Stagecoach London assume operation of the 193, from Romford (NS) garage which is conveniently situated on the line of route. A brand new batch of, you guessed it, ADL Enviro 200 MMCs entered service and after a couple of sneak preview trips on the 499, a full turnout was available for day one. These buses do feature the larger wheelchair priority area which is now part of the specification. A "classic" Enviro 200 which used to work routes at Plumstead (PD) garage is also technically meant to work the route, but that spends most of its time off-road and the PVR can be achieved with the MMCs alone. As expected, the service levels have been hit and miss so far, but hopefully Stagecoach will become accustomed to running this fairly straightforward service soon and even if the enthusiast community view this change as a significant downgrade, I'm sure locals do appreciate the new buses considering the woeful condition of their predecessors.

Double trouble at the double run in Hornchurch.

This change was less significant - a contract renewal rather than a change of operator - but it also involves Stagecoach London, Enviro 200 MMCs and the Havering area. Route 165 runs between Romford Brewery and Rainham Abbey Wood Lane, with intermediate destinations including Emerson Park, Hornchurch and Elm Park. It's fairly busy too, with regular double deck workings.
The typical diet of the route, however, consisted of 13-reg ADL Enviro 200s which allowed the route to run at a 12 minute frequency (20 evenings and Sundays), with a peak vehicle requirement for 12 buses. The former allocation was still in pretty good condition by the end of the contract, so it was a surprise to see them replaced by brand new ADL E200 MMCs, but that's what happens when operators choose to lease buses rather than buy them outright. The new kit entered service a few days after the renewal on Saturday 29th September and now theoretically make up 100% of the allocation, although for the time being "classic" E200s can still appear as the TfL decided to cancel the double deck conversion of route 256. Bad, bad decision.

Central London - June October:

An improvement to a bus service? Well, not quite...

 Saturday 23rd June 2018 should've seen route 274 receive a full allocation of double deck vehicles, giving the route a much needed capacity upgrade in coincidence with the contract renewal of the service. Unfortunately, this wasn't an altruistic move at all - double deckers were only ordered as they're actually cheaper than electric single deckers, which are a requirement for some Central London services. For this change to take place though some tree pruning was necessary along the line of route and as this was forbidden during the nesting season of rare bird species, the route couldn't fully convert in time - mother nature strikes again. However, TfL still thought that reducing the frequency considerably to every 12 minutes Monday-Friday and to every 10 minutes at weekends would be acceptable despite there being no capacity improvement whatsoever, which resulted in chronic overcrowding and some atrocious reliability levels - the route still hasn't recovered since the frequency change. Although this will have undoubtedly affected patronage, hopefully the addition of a top deck will be able to lure people back.

Warning: due to Baker Street works I would seriously discourage trying this end-to-end during busy periods.

 Luckily, it wasn't a complete disaster and TfL did recognise that simply leaving the route to suffer probably wasn't the best idea. Therefore, on weekends only a supplementary service with double deck vehicles ran between Marble Arch and London Zoo, as the trees on this section clearly didn't hold such a powerful position. As the month of October came around people were sceptical the route would even

manage to convert, but a few days later some of the brand new Volvo/B5LH MCV EvoSeti vehicles actually entered service and made it as far as Islington Angel. It's a truly superb route with double deckers and I would seriously recommend it, taking you through Baker Street, Primrose Hill, Camden Town and Caledonian Road en route. The route reaches its PVR on weekends, due to tourist demand, where 14 buses are required and these are shared with route 30, also based at King's Cross (KC) garage. Some of the former allocation, in the form of ageing Dart Pointers and newer Enviro 200s, remain at the garage, whilst others have migrated to other bases like Willesden Junction (WJ) garage, where they appear on routes like the 187, 206 and 226. Hopefully, despite the awful service quality at present, the future is bright for the 274 and its popularity can return to the convincing levels pre-conversion.

 Also running out of King's Cross (KC) garage (until recently), with the same former allocation as the 274, the 46 also didn't manage to start its conversion until October. This service runs between Bart's Hospital and Lancaster Gate, via King's Cross, Hampstead and Swiss Cottage, taking up to 100 minutes end-to-end in rush hour. Its PVR for 19 buses is now serviced by Holloway (HT) garage, which caters for a 10 minute frequency (4bph evenings & Sundays). Unlike the 274, this didn't receive the gift of double deckers, but due to the necessity of road modifications at Warwick Avenue, along with charging point issues at the garage, the batch of electric buses didn't manage to enter service until three weeks ago. There haven't actually been any new entries for a while now, so I don't doubt there are still problems. Once sorted, the existing E200s will go to other garages like Potters Bar (PB) and Greenford (G), where routes 491 and 95 are still missing parts of their new allocation.

Apart from one rogue appearance at Holloway (HT) garage open day in September, the batch of electrics didn't debut on the 46 until Saturday 20th October, where there were around a dozen. Before this, electric technology had introduced itself to the 46 in the form of a Yutong/E10 demonstrator vehicle, although this has moved onto Abelllio London now. Having sampled one of the "proper" electrics, they are certainly commendable vehicles with an immaculate interior, whilst offering a smooth ride. They contain the usual features found on BYD/ADL electric E200 MMCs, including USB charging ports, as well as the large battery pack found on the roof. Hopefully, once the reliance on portable chargers at Holloway (HT) garage is no longer necessary, the route can convert fully and give the 46 some much cleaner buses.

South London: September to October

A unique type, almost extinct within London.

 This contract change occurred on the hectic date, Saturday 1st September, although received quite poor coverage due to its isolation compared to the rest of the drama. Under the old, the 293 was operated by Go-Ahead London, where the service was based at Croydon (C) garage. It runs between Morden and Epsom Hospital, travelling through Cheam and Ewell in the process, with the journey taking around 45 minutes to complete end-to-end. A peak vehicle requirement for 6 vehicles satisfies the 20 minute frequency, which drops to half hourly on Sundays. Its allocation was rather interesting, with the last batch of Scania OmniCity single deckers in London serving the 293 right until the end of the contract - a solitary example still survives at Orpington (MB) garage, working route 358 alongside its unreliable batch of Mercedes Citaros. In addition to the Scania machinery, a wide range of other types frequently worked the 293, ranging from Wrightbus Gemini 2 B9TL double deckers, to single door mini Enviro 200s! Service levels were generally pretty good, but the fairly lengthy dead runs can't have been ideal, so it's unsurprising really that the much closer Epsom (EB) garage were successful in the tendering results.

 As usual with RATP and new E200 MMCs, the batch of vehicles ordered against the contract were nowhere to be seen on day one and as the route is very busy, using shorter single deckers wasn't really an option. Conveniently, there were enough spare Scania OmniCity vehicles at Hounslow (AV) to convert route 203 to double deck operation on a temporary basis, which allowed this route to donate its full-size Mercedes Citaros to the H37. As a result, some of the Optare Tempos on the H37 moved to Epsom (EB) garage for the 293 and formed the full allocation of the service on day one, surprisingly without any banditry. For some reason, some of these buses still haven't returned to the H37 despite the new kit being around for ages, but having the 203 run with DDs for longer is definitely a thumbs up from me!                            

Almost all of the 11.4m ADL Enviro 200 MMC vehicles entered service at the same time, which introduced this variant of the model to London for the first time. They behave just like any other example of these buses, with the compulsory but also annoying stop-start technology, but have some additional seating too. As well as the single deck allocation, there is a solitary timetabled double deck school working, which runs in the am/pm peak period. Unusually, an ADL Enviro400H from Shepherd's Bush (S) garage, which used to be work the 94, has been transferred over which does introduce hybrid technology to the Quality Line subsidiary for the first time, although the bus has settled in well and does also work the mainstream DD routes instead of sitting in the garage for most of the day. From what I've seen so far, service levels are promising and despite a couple of odd workings which have been banditised, hopefully RATP can prove themselves as the successful winner of the contract and I wish them all the best for the next five years.

 Route 403 runs between Warlingham and West Croydon, via Sanderstead and South Croydon. It runs at a 12 minute frequency from Monday to Saturday (3bph evenings & Sundays), with a peak vehicle requirement for 7 vehicles supplementing the fairly short 7 mile route, which takes no more than 40 minutes to complete end-to-end. Under the previous contract Arriva London operated the service from South Croydon (TC) garage, with an eclectic mix of double deckers including DAF DB250 Wrightbus Gemini vehicles as well as the DB300 variants, along with some ADL Enviro 400s. Given that the service had been with this company for many years and is not particularly demanding, it was run to an exceptional standard and its loss to the rivals down the road caused frustration from the enthusiast community. Having sampled the service, I convey the opinion that it's a delightful little service, serving both the urban realm of Croydon and quaint, rural villages of Warlingham and Sanderstead, which offer challenging hills, stunning panoramic views and some really narrow roads!

Saturday 27th October 2018 saw Go-Ahead London take over operation of the 403, with a modest upgrade to existing 61-reg ADL Enviro 400s, which have been refurbished after their stint on the 468. In addition to the main allocation, Wrightbus Gemini 3 B5LH vehicles already found at Croydon (C) garage have been reblinded and work the route on an almost daily basis. Initially, operation proved to be difficult, with the challenges of a first day complemented with disruptive roadworks in Warlingham as well as a huge diversion which involved missing out a large chunk of Sanderstead heading Southbound. Since then, however, the 403 has been doing rather well and the locals certainly seem to be impressed with their new vehicles and operator judging by their comments on day one - we wish them the best for the next five years.

West London: June October:

Variety at the Chiswick Business park stand.

 What is it with electric buses missing their deadline... The 70 has only been at London United for 17 months and the tender specification did confirm a full allocation of electric vehicles would be purchased, despite this route not entering the Ultra Low Emission Zone. However, it would be unrealistic to assume they would be complete by the contract renewal date in June 2017, so a temporary batch of diesel ADL Enviro 200 MMCs were ordered and entered service at Shepherd's Bush (S) garage in time for the takeover. The electrics, however, certainly took advantage of there not being a particular service entry requirement, so even though the estimated start date was June 2018, they didn't actually show up on the 70 until Monday 1st October. Despite their prolonged period of time sitting around in the garage, these electric vehicles don't feel as refined as the Metroline examples on the 46, being much more rattly for sure, but there's no denying that they still offer a much smoother and more comfortable ride than the diesel variants. The indirect route, between Chiswick Business Park and South Kensington via Ladbroke Grove, is now fully electric but unfortunately reliability levels hasn't really improved at all since the start of the contract - Tower Transit managed the route more effectively! Nonetheless, London United still have time to prove themselves and hopefully now the allocation is more secure, they can start to focus more on polishing the quality of service.

When bollards decide to ruin the photo...

  Although the C1 remains at Shepherd's Bush (S) garage for its current contract, it has also been upgraded to electric operation with the exact same vehicle type as the 70 - there are a total of 36 BYD ADL E200s operated by London United. It's quite an odd route, running predominantly in zone 1 but only operating with single deckers despite its promising patronage levels. Its termini are White City and Victoria, with intermediate destinations including Kensington Olympia, Earl's Court, South Kensington, Knightsbridge and Belgravia. Its PVR matches the unusual frequency of every 13 minutes, with the route taking around an hour to complete end-to-end. Unlike the 70, it has been operated pretty well throughout its time at RATP so far. The former allocation was rather neglected for a Central London service, predominantly consisting of 10-reg tired ADL Enviro 200s, but ageing Dart Pointers were also very common until the start of the year. Three of the new electric buses entered service a few days after their debut on the 70, but unusually all of them were taken off-road early and no others appeared for ages afterwards. Whatever issue was present has been resolved now and the route is 100% electric, giving the C1 a much more refreshed look for the next few years.

This type could become extinct soon, so catch them while you can!

There's quite a bit of fall-out stuff to do with the 70 and C1 changes, which I don't think has even been finalised yet. In regards to the latter service, its former ADL Enviro 200s are in the process of being transferred to the 419 service, between Richmond and Hammersmith, to replace its solid allocation of Dart Pointers. As for the rest of the ex-C1 cohort, I imagine some will be used on the 72 for its even older selection of buses. The ex-70 E200 MMCs are off to two different destinations, with the first being Hounslow (AV) garage to replace even more Dart Pointers on the H22 service between Richmond and Hounslow - this conversion is almost complete. Epsom (EB) garage have started to receive the rest of the MMCs, which will replace the Optare Versa vehicles that typically work the 411 and 465. As brand new E200s have been ordered for the 283 and 391, replacing those Versas, the end is in sight for these buses in London, as I'm sure the Stagecoach examples will be gone when the 396 passes to Go-Ahead in March. I personally quite like the Quality Line examples on the 465, so I'd recommend doing them before the boring MMCs turn up.

That's about it for Autumn 2018. Although this layout is very different to the typical produce, hopefully it's provided a satisfactory summary of what's been going on recently and I do plan to start publishing normal, in-depth posts from next month.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!