Bexleyheath Busageddon

Saturday 20th January 2018 was somewhat significant in the typical calendar of a bus enthusiast, given that four routes changed operator on this day, all in the same area. Go-Ahead London surrendered routes 422 and B14 to Stagecoach, along with the 401 to Arriva. The latter company have also inherited routes 99 and 269 from Stagecoach, with the only notable success for Go-Ahead being the retention of route B16 with its existing Enviro 200s. Five out of the six routes have already undergone their contract renewals or changes, with the B14 set to occur on Saturday 3rd February 2018 - this change will be covered in a separate post. This document will talk about routes 99, 269, 401 and 422 individually, giving comparisons between the operators and my general thoughts on the services on my trip to sample them.

Stagecoach London 12352 represents the old face of the 99.

Given that the terminus points of route 99 are Woolwich and Bexleyheath Shopping Centre, you might initially think that this route is rather short in nature. However, the 99 is probably one of the most indirect double deck routes found in the London bus network. After navigating a lengthy tour of Woolwich Town Centre (this only happens heading towards Bexleyheath), the 99 takes a fairly straight path through the urban high street of Plumstead, before tackling some challenging hills in the fairly rural approach to Erith, completely ignoring the right turns that would take the 99 straight to Bexleyheath. The 99 pauses at Erith Town Centre, before almost heading back on itself down through Barnehurst and Slade Green in order to terminate at Bexleyheath - this section is extremely residential and involves traversing a ridiculous number of side routes in a short amount of time, which can feel relentless towards the end. Nevertheless, the section between Woolwich and Erith is so enjoyable, offering a huge contrast between the major town centres and countryside like feel of the villages around Bostall Heath, with vehicles frequently being put to the test by the demanding nature of the roads around there. Although I found the section between Erith and Bexleyheath rather tedious, I'd still recommend riding the 99 ; it might be wise to ignore this part completely and only ride between Woolwich and Erith if you're short on time.

At the moment, a 12-minute frequency is provided on the 99, requiring 14 buses in rush hour. The end-to-end journey time is typically around 60 minutes and in general this route is fairly busy, having both some crowded and quiet times. Stagecoach London previously operated the service from Plumstead (PD) garage, using a variety of vehicle types as a result of flexible allocations. Rarer appearances came in the form of Trident ALX400s, Wrightbus Gemini 3 B5LHs and some of the remaining Scania OmniCity vehicles, although the main diet of the 99 consisted of powerful 64-plate ADL Enviro 400Hs, which suited the route nicely. Coincidentally, these exact vehicles are now being used on the 422, which was also won on Saturday 20th January. Many enthusiasts are upset that Arriva have taken over the 99, presumably because Stagecoach operated the route well and with a capable fleet of buses - some of the Wrightbus Gemini 2 DB300s that Arriva currently use have quite a poor reputation for their lack of power and sluggish nature. Nevertheless, the convenient use of a joint bid and a large pool of existing vehicles on behalf of Arriva managed to undercut Stagecoach's attempt at retaining the service and the contract changeover date, Saturday 20th January, came around pretty quickly after the publication of the tendering results.

Arriva London DW433 is seen at Nuxley Village on route 99.

 Routes 99, 269 and 401 are now all operated from Dartford (DT) garage and a large pool of Wrightbus Gemini 2 DB300 vehicles (numbered DW423-459) are used on all three services, along with a newer DW555 which has randomly transferred there too. The 99 change has also resulted in Dartford (DT) garage claiming every single route in Erith Town Centre, with Go-Ahead and now Stagecoach losing their remaining ones in recent times. I intended to catch the 99 at Nuxley Village on the first day, with a short ride from there to Woolwich. However, my first impressions of the service were lowered significantly when no bus showed up for 18 minutes, typically in this rather rural village during a burst of heavy rain. However, the bus was surprisingly warm on board and it coped with the demanding roads rather well, being fairly quiet considering the large gap in front. It seems that these examples of the DB300s are substantially better than the ones in East London on the 175 and at Tottenham (AR) garage, which is a relief as otherwise they probably wouldn't be able to cope with the tough South-East London services. On the first day, the expected uneven service was omnipresent, with a large number of gaps lasting longer than 20 minutes and lots of buses running close together too - whilst I was waiting in Nuxley Village four passed by heading towards Bexleyheath before mine arrived.

Arriva London DW447 is seen on the 99 to Bexleyheath, Shopping Centre

Since then, the service hasn't shown many signs of improvement, with road closures around Bostall Hill exacerbating the difficulties in developing knowledge of the 99 and how to control it. Ironically, during the week lots of buses have been curtailed to Plumstead Bus Garage, the former home of the 99, something which rarely happened under the contract. There were also some iBus issues with the vehicles for the first few days, resulting in some 'ghost buses' not appearing on LVF. So far, no unallocated vehicles have appeared on the 99, 269 or 401 at Dartford (DT) garage, with the other E400 double deckers that reside there lacking blinds for the three new intakes. Although Arriva have been presented with some difficulties in getting to know the 99, with various service disruptions and a lack of experience in handling the service, I'm pretty confident that there will be an improvement fairly soon, as the garage currently deal with much more challenging routes. Despite the initial scepticism surrounding the ability of the DW-class vehicles, some of them have actually been praised for their good performance up the infamous Bostall Hill and overall it seems that Arriva might be a bearable successor to Stagecoach after all.

Go-Ahead London E207 is seen on route 401 to Thamesmead, under the old contract.

The 401 is much shorter than the other three routes that feature in this post, only taking around 30 minutes to travel between Bexleyheath Shopping Centre and Thamesmead outside of rush hour. It has a 15-minute frequency during the day and soaks uses up to 8 buses at a time. Go-Ahead London previously operated the route from Bexleyheath (BX) garage, with a rather varied allocation consisting of Volvo B7TL President and Gemini buses, along with the newer B9TL Gemini 2s and ADL E400s. Both ends of the 401 are fairly residential, although the middle section is rather interesting and quite enjoyable. After the rural settlement of Nuxley Village, the 401 passes through Belvedere and Picardy Road, which involves a massive hill climb heading towards Bexleyheath, or a stunning view of the River Thames as it nears the estuary and the industrial wasteland at Dagenham and beyond, towards Thamesmead. There's also a quirky little double run into the industrial area at Belvedere, along with a lengthy dual carriageway section until the edge of Abbey Wood. Under the old contract, the running time was fairly tight and I had E207 floored to bits on this section and as the DW-class Gemini's that now run the service seem to have decent potential, it'll be interesting to see how they perform. In general, the 401 is probably the best route out of the four in terms of being consistently entertaining and its variety in surroundings means that there's something for everyone and is perhaps one to check out. Go-Ahead weren't noticeably bad under the old contract, but Bexleyheath (BX) garage have constantly run the 401 since its birth, so the transfer to Arriva was a shock to many, especially as Dartford (DT) garage is so much further than its former home.

Arriva London DW450 is seen at Nuxley Village on the 401 to Bexleyheath.

On Saturday 20th January, I decided to sample the 401 on my back to Woolwich, especially because it conveniently connects with the 99 at Nuxley Village. In terms of reliability, the route was an absolute wreck on the first day, with the service easily being the worst I witnessed out of the four routes, despite it presumably being the easiest one to operate due to its short length and low frequency. My chosen boarding point was the stop at Bexleyheath Clock Tower, which was very popular with enthusiasts as all four changing routes pass there, although on my visit the bus stop was  full with angry 401 passengers instead, who had seemingly been waiting for a very long time - the countdown screen wasn't promising anything better either as it claimed the next bus was 21 minutes away. However, a bunching of two vehicles showed up within a few minutes, with the first one curtailed to Belvedere Police Station, something I find absurd and frankly hilarious as the journey time between Bexleyheath and the aforementioned curtailment point is only around 10 minutes! However, this residential section of the 401 seems to be very popular as almost everyone happily boarded the first bus despite the driver's informative method of communicating the early termination point. I chose to hang back and catch the second one and both of the vehicles certainly weren't hanging around, with both buses being maxed out along the side roads - it would've been interesting to sample them on the dual carriageway. Nevertheless, the quick DWs made my brief 401 journey thoroughly enjoyable, further contradicting the generally negative connotations surrounding these vehicles. After alighting at Belvedere Police Station, I was greeted with more angry passengers intending to catch a bus back to Bexleyheath, who had also been waiting for well over 15 minutes. Another convoy appeared, with no bus afterwards for over 30 minutes, emphasising the shambolic nature of the first afternoon - things seemed to settle down during the evening, much to the relief of regular users.

DW434 represents the curtailment to Belvedere.

 Thankfully, the service has been considerably better throughout the week and Arriva now seem to have good knowledge of the 401 despite the hiccups on the first day. Apart from the fairly lengthy dead runs, the route shouldn't be too challenging for them, especially as the challenging 229 is run very well from Dartford (DT) garage. Although the 15-minute frequency does sound rather low for a route like the 401, it's pretty well-suited to demand, with buses naturally being fairly quiet outside of peak times, although on weekends they seem to carry quite heavy loads. We'll have to hope it avoids a frequency cut from TFL, who have been brutal lately with decreasing routes despite some of them being exceptionally busy at their former frequency. However, the 401 does seem to be pretty successful at shuttling people between Thamesmead and Bexleyheath and hopefully Arriva will be able to match Go-Ahead's standards on the old contract.

Stagecoach London 17857 is seen on the 269 to Bexleyheath Shopping Centre, representing the old look of the route.

 The second route lost by Stagecoach London, from their Bromley (TB) garage, is the 269, although the void at this garage will be partially filled with the arrival of route B14 next week. Running between two major town centres in South East London, the 269 is quite a useful service for locals, almost being a trunk route between Bexleyheath and Bromley. It travels through Bexley, Sidcup, Queen Mary's Hospital and Chislehurst in the process, taking around 45 minutes to complete the journey during the day. It runs every 12 minutes with a peak vehicle requirement of the same number. Out of all the changes, this one was probably the most upsetting for many enthusiasts, as the service under Stagecoach was famous for providing very fast journeys with beastly Trident ALX400s, which are leaving London at a rapid rate. ADL Enviro 400s were also fairly common on the 269 under the old contract and occasionally single deckers had to be used when the route was temporarily diverted under a low bridge at Chislehurst. Unfortunately, my only 269 journey with a Trident was painfully slow, with the driver crawling along throughout the route despite running late. The element of thrash was also probably the only other notable thing about the 269, given that the routeing is rather residential and focussing on that alone simply wasn't enjoyable enough for me. It's a shame I didn't experience one of the faster trips on the 269, especially as the newer DW-class vehicles probably won't be able to reach abnormally high speeds, even if they are above average for their type. Nevertheless, many enthusiasts were forced to bid farewell to the old buses on Friday 19th January 2018, with Arriva taking over the next day.

DW423 is seen at Bexleyheath Library. Interestingly, this is one of only two vehicles in this batch with manual blinds.

The takeover of route 269 has reintroduced Arriva to the area of Bromley, for the first time since last July when they withdrew their commercial 402 service. Like the 99 and 401, the old garage at Bromley (TB) is considerably closer to the route than Dartford (DT), emphasising how significant the joint bid discount and existing vehicles are. Thanks to Southeastern's incompetence (the train left the complicated station at Lewisham early) I wasn't able to sample the 269 on the first day - I simply didn't have time to waste 30 minutes and travel down to Bexley instead. However, I did manage to observe the service running around Bexleyheath and obtain some pictures and in general things are looking promising for Arriva for the 269. This service was easily the best out of the three on the first day in terms of service, with no large gaps at all and the worst problems being a little bit of bunching, which is natural on the first day. The 269 was also heavily affected by the iBus issue on the Saturday, with lots of buses not appearing on LVF or other bus tracking websites, so on the surface it seemed like this route was struggling the most. It seems that this one is quite comfortable already at Arriva and hopefully the locals will appreciate their equally reliable service (Stagecoach were also decent under the old contract), despite the recent frequency reduction, something which isn't ideal for the school rush where this route is hammered with commuting children.

Arriva London DW438 is seen in Bexleyheath on the 269 to Bromley North.

Overall, it's clear that a compromise has occurred with this particular contract change. Most regular users will presumably prefer the newer DW-class vehicles, as the Trident ALX400s did feel a little worn out inside towards the end of the contract, even if their engines were still healthy. However, all the beautiful, thrashy trips that occurred under Stagecoach will probably come to an end, especially if Arriva have followed the trend of increasing the running time with new schedules. Newer buses are often less satisfying to listen to when being driven fast, from an enthusiast's perspective anyway. However, all other aspects of the service are promising and I'd like to wish Arriva good luck in maintaining their excellent start.

Go-Ahead London E238 is seen at Blackheath Royal Standard on the 422 to North Greenwich

Conveniently, Stagecoach have received some sort of compensation after the loss of route 99 from Plumstead (PD) garage, with this site being perfect for the operation of route 422, which they've picked up from Go-Ahead London, who formerly ran the route from Bexleyheath (BX) garage. Having a peak vehicle requirement of 16 buses, the 422 runs every 10 minutes during the day and takes just over an hour from start to finish, being the longest out of the three routes running between North Greenwich and Bexleyheath. The 422 certainly doesn't take the most direct route to Woolwich, serving East Greenwich and Blackheath first, before travelling along the 53-corridor until Woolwich Town Centre. From here, it follows the 96 through Plumstead and to East Wickham, where the 422 turns residential for around 15 minutes until it serves Bexleyheath Station, with the Shopping Centre only being a few minutes beyond. However, this wasn't the original termination point, with buses under the old contract continuing as far as Bexleyheath Bus Garage, owned by Go-Ahead London. Now that Stagecoach run the 422, buses no longer have permission to stand in the depot (although this is very cheeky as Go-Ahead actually use the Stagecoach garage at Catford for route 171!) and this resulted in a cutback, without consultation, to the already overcrowded terminus at Bexleyheath Shopping Centre ; due to space constraints the 422 has to stand on a side road for the time being. 

Under the old contract, Go-Ahead London struggled with running the 422, with the service not being brilliant and often filled with large gaps. Like the 401, it used a mixture of double deck vehicles found at the garage and these came in the form of ADL E400s and Wrightbus Gemini B7TLs and B9TLs, with the former type being the most common from my observations. In terms of my opinion on the route in general, I can't make a proper judgement on the 422 as I haven't actually ridden all of it yet, although the Woolwich-North Greenwich section is most enjoyable with some stunning views of London from Charlton, so hopefully the rest of the route lives up to this standard. This change wasn't particularly upsetting for enthusiasts, with Stagecoach looking more promising in terms of their vehicle fleet and the good reputation Plumstead (PD) garage has for running routes well.

Stagecoach London 12360 is seen at Bexleyheath Shopping Centre, representing the new destination.

In terms of the technical allocation, it's quite a complicated affair. The bulk of vehicles are in the form of 64-reg ADL Enviro 400 E40Hs which have come directly from the 99 and were therefore available from the first day. However, initially Stagecoach London intended to order four brand new Enviro 400 MMCs for the 422 in order to meet the peak vehicle requirement, although this order has been cancelled as there are enough spare buses in the existing fleet. A frequency reduction on route 47 has freed up a few buses at Catford (TL) garage, so two ADL diesel euro 6 Enviro 400s that were formerly allocated to the 136 have transferred down to Plumstead (PD) and now work the 422 on a regular basis, with the 136 using some of the 47s B5LH MMCs in compensation. However, due to the flexible allocations at Plumstead (PD) garage, almost any double decker can appear on any route, although not all of them have been blinded for the 422 yet, so at the moment only E400s and MMCs have worked the route so far, although some Scania OmniCitys and Gemini 3s might sneak onto the route in the future. In terms of their capability, all of the E400s there are wonderful buses, having comfortable seating, a welcoming interior and a powerful engine which is extremely beneficial for tackling this challenging, fast-paced route. It seems that the running time might've been decreased or maintained at the same level as before, as all the buses I sampled were in a hurry to keep to time, despite there being no traffic disruptions. This is quite rare on the London bus network and I'm really glad a tight schedule is still in place on this route, so hopefully when someone completes it from end-to-end they can be presented with a lively journey.

Stagecoach London 12368 is one of the MMCs that has been blinded for the service.

Coincidentally, I ended up on two 422s on my day out, with both of my trips simply happening because the route is useful and it connected to other buses which I needed to snap. My first ride was on an ADL E40H, just between Bexleyheath Station and the Shopping Centre and there was nothing spectacular to report, mostly because the ride was brief and I was busy tracking down one of two E40H MMCs heading the other way. However, this route was also a victim of iBus issues, with the announcements playing "... to Bexleyheath, Shopping Centre", with the absence of a route number. My second ride was much more substantial, on one of the recently transferred ADL E40D vehicles, between Woolwich and Westcombe Park, and I'm pleased to say that the journey was thoroughly enjoyable. Although these buses aren't praised for their power or speed, I found the journey relaxing and it was easily the best bus of the day, having interesting views outside and a quick pace, with the driver putting his foot down where necessary. I also noticed that the service was excellent reliability-wise, with almost perfect headways and no examples of bunching whatsoever, something very rare on a first day, especially with such a difficult route like the 422 - it is arguably much more challenging than the 99, 269 and 401 and perhaps the reason why it didn't struggle is the experience Plumstead (PD) has with challenging and lengthy double deck routes like the 51, 53 and 122. 

Stagecoach London 10205, one of the transfers from Catford, is seen in Westcombe Park.

Throughout the week, the 422 has continued to show off its excellent performance and in general this change can be viewed as the most successful, having a capable fleet of buses which are currently providing a superb service, something which doesn't usually occur in the first week of operation. The only negative aspect is the curtailment from Bexleyheath Bus Garage, with this section occasionally being popular with residents on this side of the town centre, although thankfully there are other frequent routes which they can take. Hopefully, the 99, 269 and 401 can follow the example set by the 422 and become competent under Arriva's operation from Dartford (DT) garage. After all, the first week hasn't been a complete disaster and Saturday 20th January 2018 marked the start of a productive weekend for many enthusiasts, where four operator changes occurred in the same area, something which doesn't happen very often - next week they're scattered all over London, ranging from Cockfosters to Orpington! I'd like to wish Stagecoach and Arriva good luck in operating all four of these routes and perhaps Bexleyheath (BX) garage can pick up some new work after their recent losses. 

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

5th Bloggerversary

Somehow, this bus blog still exists five years after its creation, after many developments and an elongated sabbatical. Admittedly, it's very surprising that this site is still here, especially with the demise of many of the other blogs, but I've been stunned by the recent growth and support from all viewers, so I'd like to thank everyone who's visited the page over the five years and made London Buses On The Go somewhat prominent in the bus blogging scene. Unfortunately, I don't have time to write a nostalgic post that goes on for hours about the past, although I'm going on a snapping spree tomorrow which will pave the way for a number of "changes" posts, which you can hopefully enjoy in the future.

Don't forget to visit London Connected too, who coincidentally came into existence on the exact same day that I did and are also celebrating their 5th anniversary.

Thanks for reading and here's to five more years!

Continuing The Green Theme

Two bus routes that sport a green livery have had their operation transferred to different companies recently, although this motif has surprisingly been retained after the change for both examples. Chronologically, the first change that occurred involved First Berkshire surrendering their commercial greenline 702 service, with initial concerns that the route would be withdrawn completely, although Reading Buses thankfully stepped in at the last minute and started running the route on Sunday 24th December 2017, with a slightly revised service on the first day. The 702 isn't actually a TFL service, although it runs to and from Central London, so it arguably deserves documentation here.

A First Berkshire Wrightbus Gemini 2 B9TL is seen at Victoria.

As I'm not an expert on the history of buses, my knowledge of the former Greenline network is patchy and all I know is that it can be traced back as far as 1930 and there used to be a lot more routes than there are today. They're essentially non-TFL coach services which run beyond London to other urban towns roughly within a 30 mile radius. The 702 is now the only one that runs to the West of the capital, starting at Victoria Coach Station and heading up to Hyde Park Corner with the others. However, here it turns left and follows the routeing of the 9/10 as far as Hammersmith, although the 702 serves different bus stops to the TFL services and they are quite sporadic. After Hammersmith, the 702 runs non-stop all the way to Langley, initially using the dual carriageway and afterwards the elevated section of the M4, which can provide some really fast trips and stunning views. After this, the 702 serves Slough, Windsor, Legoland, Ascot and Bracknell, where all services terminated under the First Berkshire operation. Generally, an hourly frequency is provided throughout the day and the journey to Bracknell takes around 150 minutes from start to finish, with an additional half hour to Reading, where some buses now terminate. A few coaches were used on the 702 until around 2013, where they were all replaced by Wrightbus Gemini 2 B9TL buses, complete with an appropriate external livery and a high specification interior, with leather high-back seats and a comfortable environment for the long distance trips travellers normally make on the service. It's not too popular with commuters and never seems to be crowded, although buses are generally quite busy throughout the day and the 702 was popular under First, who seemingly provided an adequate service with a luxurious fleet of buses. However, their Slough network has seen masses of cuts recently and unfortunately the 702 wasn't considered to be sustainable anymore, so the service was surrendered. The last day was on Saturday 23rd December 2017, with Reading Buses taking over the next day, albeit with a slightly different vehicle allocation.

RF226 is seen at Royal Albert Hall on the 702.

Reading Buses wanted to make their debut on the 702 an event to remember and this was achieved by organising a running day, using mostly, but not exclusively, vintage buses that ran to a special timetable along the route. Donations to the Red Balloon Learners Centre were welcome, although the route technically ran free of charge. For most of the day, the service was split into two routes, with one between Windsor and Victoria and a shuttle which connected with the London services from Windsor to Bracknell numbered the 701, although a couple of through buses featured towards the end of the day, with one going all the way to Reading Station from Victoria. Drivers and conductors were sourced on a voluntary basis and were mostly enthusiasts themselves, creating a friendly atmosphere and a really successful day on the whole. I had the pleasure of sampling the service for an hour within London and managed to catch two vintage vehicles on my travels.

RMC1510 is seen at Hammersmith on a Bracknell through service.

A wide variety of vehicles were out and about, including single decker RF models, classic Routemasters and an open top RMC, which must've been great fun on the elevated M4 section, although it was pretty cold on my trip between Kensington and Hammersmith! Some more modern traction came in the form of two existing vehicles that have been heavily refurbished for the main 702 service, in the form of a Scania OmniCity single decker and an ADL Enviro 400 with a stunning external greenline livery - images containing both of these types feature later on. I thoroughly enjoyed my trips on the heritage 702s, with a pleasurable vibe and a lovely throwback to travelling down Kensington High Street on Routemasters when the 9H was still around, even if those ones had a roof upstairs. Buses were well loaded and it seems that the day was very popular, giving Reading Buses the opportunity to thrive at the start of their operation on the demanding 702. After a two day break, the normal service started on Wednesday 27th December 2017, with a wide variety of buses out and about.

Reading Buses 1208, the ADL E400 branded for the Greenline 702, is seen at Hammersmith on route to Bracknell.

Reading Buses operate the 702 from their depot at Great Knollys Street in Reading Town Centre, although a new outstation is opening in Slough for their recent gains there and I predict that some 702 buses will eventually be based at this site. At the moment, the timetable is broadly similar to what First Berkshire provided, with roughly the same departure times from Victoria and Bracknell, with only one immediate difference between the two. Some early morning and late evening trips have been extended to Reading Station under the new contract - as these buses are running to/from the depot it costs Reading Buses nothing to operate them in passenger service, even though I suspect they will be lightly used. In addition to this, the very last evening trip from London runs non-stop between Slough and Reading, which must be a very fast ride! In terms of reliability, the operation has been decent so far, with a few minor issues in regards to buses leaving on time, although it's nothing serious and at the moment they don't seem to be any worse than First Berkshire in this department.

Reading Buses 12 represents the one trip that runs non-stop from Slough to Reading, in the form of a Scania OmniCity single decker.

A full allocation of vehicles hasn't been ordered for the 702 yet, as Reading Buses feel that they should get to know the service before making a decision. As a result, a large variety of buses are currently being trialled and the uniform allocation of the future will be based upon driver and passenger feedback. There are two types that are fully branded for the service and these come in the form of an ADL E400 (illustrated further up) and two Scania OmniCity tri-axle single deckers, which have been acquired from Scotland and have received a heavy refurbishment with more comfortable seats and other luxuries. Personally, I'm hoping that this type isn't ordered for the service, along with the coach which will enter service shortly, as the views from the top deck when the 702 travels along the M4 are just incredible and the experience won't be the same on either of these types. I especially wouldn't want coaches because having mainstream buses arguably makes the 702 unique - without them it would just be another average national express style long-distance service and I find them pretty grim. However, there are other types on the horizon, including a blue ADL E400 City demonstrator with leather seating, USB charging and tables upstairs and an Irizar single decker. Although I wouldn't want the latter type being delivered en masse, there aren't any examples of these in the TFL fleet and sampling one of them on the quieter trips would be a pleasure, especially on the demanding M4.

Reading Buses 759 is seen at Victoria Coach Station.

Fleet flexibility at the depot means that some non-branded existing vehicles in the Reading Buses fleet can appear on the 702 from time to time, especially at weekends. These includs ADL E400s normally allocated to the jet black 1 (which contain all over advertising for something completely unrelated) or their younger equivalent, this being the E400 MMC, like the example illustrated above. These buses were also used for driver training, with branded "emerald" ones frequently running along the route in the run up to the changeover. As you can probably tell, the variety on the 702 at the moment is brilliant, with almost every vehicle on the service being a different type. This does mean catching the bus is a bit of a lottery, with the type ranging from a fairly small single decker, to a full-size coach or an average double decker. It'll be interesting to see what is eventually ordered for the service and hopefully Reading Buses can keep up their good start to operating the 702. This rounds off part one of the post ; we'll be moving onto the TFL 142 service now.

Arriva London VLA176 is seen at Watford Junction on route 142.

The 142 runs between Brent Cross and Watford Junction, via Hendon, Edgware, Stanmore and Bushey. It takes around 80 minutes from start to finish in typical road conditions and has a 12-minute frequency from Monday-Saturday, with this reducing to 4bph on Sundays. Arriva The Shires, a subsidiary of Arriva Bus UK have, operated the 142 from their Garston (GR) garage for a while, although towards the end of the contract this division was branded as Arriva London for TFL services. Older vehicles were the norm on route 142, with Volvo B7TL ALX400s and mark 1 Geminis making up most of the allocation in recent times, although occasional appearances of newer Wrightbus Streetdeck vehicles did happen. Controversially, single deckers were used on the 142 fairly regularly, due to a shortage of DDs and extremely loose allocations, where the double deck ALX400s would often find themselves on quieter SD routes whilst the Enviro 200 single deckers ended up on the 142, which really wasn't ideal as it's a busy route! In terms of operation, the route was hit and miss, with some sloppy performance at times, although the demanding nature and lengthy journey time must've contributed to this. Unfortunately, Garston (GR) garage will no longer operate TFL services in a few months time, with most of their existing ones transferring over to RATP London Sovereign or to Arriva's Palmers Green (AD) garage. This move was triggered by the loss of routes 142 and 258, which were the only ones anywhere near the garage itself! Dead mileage was costly and clearly running Edgware routes from somewhere in Hertfordshire wasn't economically viable anymore, so understandably they've all been surrendered. Arriva certainly gave the 142 a lot of character throughout their contract and they will be missed, especially because of the thrash the beastly B7TL Volvos provided. The newer buses that now run the route are pretty decent, but are commonplace in London and the route is now arguably less interesting. However, the service performance is likely to improve and it's very unlikely that single deckers will ever touch the route again, which is a relief!

RATP London Sovereign ADE40428 is seen at Burnt Oak Broadway, bound for Watford Junction

London Sovereign operate the 142 from Edgware (BT) garage, which is situated roughly in the middle of the route, providing a convenient spot for driver changeovers. Due to losses in the Hounslow area, a large number of existing ADL E400s became surplus recently and these were perfect for the 142, which doesn't require hybrid vehicles for this contract. Most of them have been heavily refurbished, even though I would argue they were in a decent state beforehand and are part of a large common user pool shared with route 258 at Edgware (BT) - this route was also lost from Arriva The Shires in September. Some unrefurbished examples are still around though and these will enter the workshop soon. For now, they still have London United logos (Sovereign and United are both divisions of RATP), bar ADE40413 which has randomly had them updated. Coincidentally, both the Arriva and RATP interiors are based on the green colour, so some sense of familiarity has been retained. Arriva's last full day was Friday 5th January 2018, with VLA168 and SW7 both finishing simultaneously in the early hours of the Saturday. Shortly after, London Sovereign began operating the service, with ADE-class E400s only throughout the morning. They're very fast, clean and are some of the best newer examples of E400s out there - a worthy replacement for the VLAs and are definitely capable of reaching high speeds in the countryside. If you're looking for an eventful journey I would recommend one of these for your ride, although the other types which do appear regularly don't stand out as being awful either.

London Sovereign RATP VH45106 is seen at Colindale.

The relaxed allocation system at Edgware (BT) means that two other blinded types have frequently appeared on the 142 since the new contract started. Wrightbus Gemini 2 B5LH vehicles, with a unique red interior, that are officially allocated to the 139, are quite populous on the service, with around three or four every day so far (bar Sundays). Occasionally, one of the few remaining Scania OmniCity vehicles found at the garage appears, although all of them are likely to be leaving fairly soon. This unexpected variety is certainly positive for enthusiasts, who feared that the route would be 100% E400. I had the privilege of sampling the service on the first day and overall, I was pretty satisfied with the buses and the service. Unfortunately, I just missed one after a sprint from Staples Corner to Priestly Way, which meant that I was standing around next to a dual carriageway in the cold for 10 minutes. However, the E400 came quickly and delivered a smooth ride up to Burnt Oak, being spotless inside thanks to the refurbishment. I was faced with a 17 minute wait heading back to Brent Cross, although this was the longest gap I witnessed and is pretty decent for a first day. Both the Gemini 2 and Scania OmniCity (I got off in the middle and switched between these buses which happened to be in a bunching) were in a good condition, with the latter one being very busy with shoppers travelling to Brent Cross. This event was also popular with other enthusiasts, as there hadn't been any contract changes since November, leaving a rather quiet festive period. As a result, many of them were out and about on the first day and I certainly saw a few cameras on my travels.

RATP London Sovereign SP40135 is seen at the last stop in Brent Cross.

Generally, reliability has been excellent so far, with no real issues and London Sovereign trying their upmost to maintain a manageable service, which is mostly successful. The company also took over the operation of route 642, which takes a similar route to the 142 bar a deviation around Colindale and to the school it serves, which is in Stanmore rather than Watford. Bar the first day on Monday, where drivers ended up getting lost and the school buses arriving late, that route seems to be doing fine as well. Overall, the 142 change can be viewed as successful in almost every aspect and it looks like a promising and stable five years for regular users of the route. It seems that both of these 'green' services are in a good place and hopefully this proves to be the case over the next few years.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Squaring Up Sloane's Changes

Go-Ahead London have recently invested in a considerable number of new single deckers for routes running around the Sloane Square area, with the 360 receiving new BYD ADL E200 MMCs as a result of the low emission zone which this route enters, whilst the 170 has recently gained some Wrightbus Streetlite buses for its contract renewal. In addition to the excitement surrounding new buses, roadworks have resulted in a lengthy diversion in the area for the 170 and a temporary route installed for the next few months.

Go-Ahead London WES1 is seen at Elephant & Castle at the start of a journey to Royal Albert Hall.

Route 360 runs from the Royal Albert Hall to Elephant & Castle, via an interesting route that involves travelling through South Kensington, Sloane Square, Pimlico and Vauxhall. It has a 12 minute frequency during the day and is one of my favourite single deck services on offer in London, mainly because of the unique routeing which appreciates so many different areas in such a short space of time. From the bustling bewilderment of Elephant & Castle, the route passes the Imperial War Museum and travels through a run-down housing estate on Black Prince Road. Some stunning riverside views can be appreciated after this short section, before a beautiful Thames crossing which takes you into the upmarket parts of Pimlico. After another section alongside the water, the 360 randomly undertakes a double run to serve Bull Ring Gate, but after this it travels through some of the richest parts of London, around Sloane Square and Kensington. The cobbled Exhibition Road, home to the Science Museum, is very odd to travel down on a London bus, whilst the terminus at Royal Albert Hall is surprisingly quiet, with tall buildings surrounding and overshadowing the bus stand. There's simply nothing else like the 360 in this City, in regards to both its route and its allocation, although the variety might vanish soon with the recent introduction of electric buses.

On paper, the former allocation consisted of Wrightbus Electrocity hybrid single deckers and two batches worked the service, with the first seven buses being four years older than the last six. They have been the only examples in London for some time and I thoroughly enjoyed my travels on them, being considerably different to the plethora of boring E200s which are found on almost every other single deck services. Unfortunately, most of them have been withdrawn, although a couple have found new temporary homes on the 286 in South-East London (more on that later). In addition to the WHY-class Electrocity vehicles, some E200s from the P5 worked the route occasionally and a large number of demonstrator buses in the Go-Ahead London have found themselves on the 360 recently, ranging from a Wrightbus Streetlite to the prototype BYD integral electric single decker. However, the cherry on top is the occasional usage of an electric Wrightbus StreetAir vehicle, which is illustrated above. It's the only example of the type in service on the London network after more than a year of dummy runs. Its motor sounds very similar to a New Routemaster, although the bus feels very nippy and has really large windows which are perfect for viewing the fascinating surroundings on the 360. Despite the severe lack of seats, I really enjoyed my experience on the StreetAir and I do hope this type is ordered in substantial numbers for future orders. The two electric demonstrators are still in (intermittent) use on the 360 at the moment, along with the main allocation of BYD ADL E200 MMCs, which have recently entered service at Camberwell (Q) garage.

Go-Ahead London SEe57 is seen at the Royal Albert Hall.

This batch of 13 vehicles started to enter service towards the end of November, although a couple still haven't made it onto the route yet and another has temporarily migrated to North London in order to train route 153 drivers before its conversion to electric operation in February. Unusually, one of the 12m versions normally allocated the red arrow 507/521 services appeared on the 360 just before this batch entered service, without blinds too! These buses are much shorter than the previous examples found on the red arrow routes and do not have open boarding, so the traditional "board at the front, alight at the back" rule still applies. Unlike the red arrow vehicles, they do not have the upgraded iBus screen, although USB ports are conveniently still present and I strongly advise you remember to pack your phone charger when travelling on the 360! There seem to be plenty of seats and are almost like a completely different bus type to its predecessors, with the engine also sounding substantially different and being much quieter. My overall impression is that these vehicles are an adequate replacement for the old guard, being smooth and stylish as well as offering excellent on-board facilities. They are also still fairly unique in London, being only the second batch to hit the streets here, which follows the trend of having non-standard buses for the 360. I find them pleasant to travel on and in my opinion, the 360 is still as brilliant as it was before. There seems to be a positive response from drivers at Camberwell (Q) garage and hopefully this conversion can be viewed as successful by everyone.

Go-Ahead London WHY13 is seen in Blackheath on route 286.

 Due to the unreliability of the ADL Enviro 200s currently allocated to the 286, two of the ex-360 Wrightbus Electrocity vehicles have temporarily transferred to Morden Wharf (MG) garage whilst the 286 buses receive modifications. WHY8 and WHY13 won't be around for long, but if you want to say farewell to this lovely type an opportunity has unexpectedly risen. The route runs from Greenwich-Queen Mary's Hospital via Blackheath and Sidcup and the two buses often run together, which can be advantageous if you happen to miss one of them, but a real pain if your previous bus is so slow you end up not making both and have to wait 2 hours for them to return! Be pessimistic with your planning and hopefully you're successful in catching one.

Go-Ahead London DP200 is seen in Clapham Junction on route 170.

One of the busiest single deck services in London is numbered the 170, running from Roehampton to Victoria, via Putney Heath, Wandsworth, Clapham Junction and Sloane Square. Unfortunately, the residential section in Battersea prevents double deckers from running along the full route, resulting in buses that are consistently busy throughout the day and severely overcrowded during rush hour - Stockwell (SW) garage even occasionally put out E400 MMC DDs as short workings between Roehampton and Clapham Junction only. The former allocation consisted of ageing Dart Pointer vehicles and some newer ADL Enviro 200s, although unusually the latter type seem to have disappeared after the introduction of a partial allocation of new buses and the DP-class vehicles still soldier on.

Go-Ahead London WS106 is seen at London Victoria. It was lovely to see some Chelsea Pensioners using the bus, you can just make out their uniform towards the rear of the photo.

Thirteen Wrightbus Streetlites entered service in time for the contract renewal, which started on Saturday 9th December 2017. They are slightly longer than previous models ordered for route 491, which is crucial for the high loadings that this service receives and were initially meant to replace the Dart Pointer vehicles. Overall, they seem better than your average Streetlite, having a decent ride quality and the ability to reach decent speeds, proved by WS106 in the Sloane Square area. As a route, the 170 seems to be fairly interesting in terms of external surroundings, although riding it during quieter times will make a huge difference in the enjoyment of your ride, as being surrounded by a swarm of standees isn't really ideal. However, if you're fussy (like me) about only completing routes when it follows its allocated path, make sure to ride the 170 towards Victoria as the Roehampton-bound service is currently undertaking two lengthy diversions, with the second not finishing until March. One of them is in the Battersea area, where a safety issue on Lombard Road is sending buses away from the residential area there, whilst the second is as a result of gas works on Chelsea Embankment. This means that Roehampton buses are diverting via the King's Road instead, which is some distance away from the area around Royal Hospital Chelsea which the 170 serves alone. As a result, a temporary service has been set up until March to ensure that the bus stops along Royal Hospital Road are still served in both directions.

Go-Ahead London SEN34 is seen near Sloane Square, working temporary route 570, contrary to the destination display!

The temporary 570 service runs in an anti-clockwise loop, starting at the top of Royal Hospital Road, situated near Sloane Square. A bus stop here has been given the honour of allowing the 570s to stand here and after this they continue down the road until the junction of Chelsea Embankment, where buses turn left (instead of right which the 170 normally undertakes) and travel down a stretch of road not normally served by a London bus. This manoeuvre ensures the stop at Bull Ring Gate still has a bus service, as route 360 is unable to serve its double run here for some reason. It then follows the aforementioned service up to Sloane Square, via Chelsea Bridge Road, where it circumnavigates the square and travels back down to the stop at Royal Hospital Road, completing the circuit, which takes around 15 minutes in total. Generally, the route runs every 20 minutes, although occasionally a 40-minute gap becomes apparent due to the driver's compulsory meal relief. A peak vehicle requirement of 1 vehicle usually comes in the form of SEN34, an ADL E200 which used to live at Merton (AL) garage. However, it can now be found on the 570 almost every day, with a Wrightbus Streetlite form the 170 occasionally stepping in. Like most temporary services, the route is sparsely used, with drivers claiming to only pick up around 9 passengers, on average, for the entire day. Driving the 570 must be a pretty lonely duty and travelling in circles all day can't be particularly appealing, although this is what has to happen in order to serve a few quiet stops which simply can't be left unless they are physically closed. Its routeing is actually pretty fascinating, offering an intriguing insight into the Royal Hospital, Chelsea Physic Garden and the National Army Museum, before serving the Chelsea Embankment which has some breathtaking riverside views. Viewing the "posh" outlets around Sloane Square is always fun and the great news is that the bus is pretty much guaranteed to be empty, with the likelihood of having another passenger on board being small. Therefore, if you feel the need to kill 20 minutes around Sloane Square, why not try the 570? It won't cost you a penny either.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!