Transport for London have revolutionised the specification for London buses, to improve both public safety and the on-board experience. However, with the manufacturer Wrightbus entering administration last week, it's unlikely that they'll be changing any of their building habits to accommodate the new regulations. Although this is certainly a time of change for the bus scene within the capital, it's still one particular operator who are thriving, almost always finding success in tendering results. They took over five services in August and we'll be focussing on two major ones in this publication.
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| Accessing the shopping centre at Brent Cross by foot is extremely difficult, though the limited number of places to snap buses are pretty solid. |
There have been several London bus services numbered the 232, but our current one has been around for 30 years. It runs from St Raphael's Estate to Turnpike Lane Station, from one side of North London to the other. Intermediate points of interest include Brent Park Superstores, Neasden Shopping Centre, Brent Cross Shopping Centre, Henly's Corner, Arnos Grove and Palmers Green. Being an impressive 13 miles in length, it's unsurprising that some trips in rush hour are scheduled to take over 90 minutes to complete end-to-end, though this figure almost halves for quieter periods. Most routes which cater for both local residents and long distance travellers tend to be pretty overloaded and the 232 is no exception, with its lone stretch along the North Circular Road not helping matters. It was in such dire straits that upon the latest contract change, TfL increased its Monday to Saturday frequency to every 12 minutes, whilst the provision of 3bph on Sundays and during the evening is also an improvement from before. 16 buses are now required at peak times for the challenging route, which is certainly no stranger to traffic hotspots. I haven't yet completed it from one end to the other, but simply looking at citymapper is sufficient to conclude that running it can't be easy. Nonetheless, Metroline at both Perivale East (PV) and Cricklewood (W) garages made considerable progress over the years and managed to achieve a half-decent operation by the end, despite the evidently inadequate frequency. The allocation suddenly became much less interesting when it switched bases though, with the quirky MCV Evolutions being withdrawn in favour of ADL Enviro 200s and nothing but the latter type worked the route for the rest of its time at the company, the only source of excitement being the occasional appearance of a longer (and newer) euro 6 example from the 112. Still, the loss was quite a shock to many, especially as the receiving operator would lack both past experience and the convenience of a garage close by.
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| Other commitments mean I usually don't cover changes at 10am on the first day, but for the 232 I learnt the hard way this is actually the most popular time, hence I ended up with this questionable angle. |
Go-Ahead London took over on Saturday 3rd August, with the presence of Northumberland Park (NP) garage in the Wood Green area returning as a result of this success. This is a fairly hefty distance from the likes of Neasden, but having a schedule which favours one particular terminus can be equally viable as one right in the middle. Only a few batches of new diesel single deckers are expected to arrive in the capital looking forward - after that, all will be electric. In addition, since no more Wrightbus Streetlites have been ordered and the future of the company looks bleak, this batch could be rather significant in representing the last to ever grace the streets of London. They arrived promptly and were seen on type training runs several weeks before the change, being 10.8m in length. Much to the surprise of regular passengers, the buses are equipped with USB charging ports at every seat - a feature which has already bailed me out on one occasion. However, they do have conventional rear view mirrors, so in some ways represent the process of transformation rather than the end product (see later). A few problems were presented to enthusiasts on day one, with some buses breaking down and others simply not knowing where to go, missing out the Arnos Grove Station forecourt or the turn at Neasden Shopping Centre. A spare vehicle, in the form of a shorter Streetlite from Putney (AF) garage numbered WS66, has been drafted in and sees almost daily use, but lacks the advantageous charging ports and extra length found on the new vehicles. Given that the only other single deck services at the garage are restricted to midibus operation, the Streetlites will be confined to the 232 for now. At first, the service was verging on the abysmal, but with every mishap Go-Ahead seem to have gained some decent knowledge of the relatively unfamiliar territory they're now having to operate in - I'm certain it'll be adequate soon enough.
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| One massive advantage of the summer period is extended daylight hours - this early morning spot probably isn't doable anymore. |
If you considered the 232's stay with Metroline as significant, then that's peanuts compared to the time route 197 has spent at Croydon (TC) garage. Apart from a three year break, it basically stayed there since 1934, so the award of this fixed five (or possibly longer) year contract to Go-Ahead would've been pretty upsetting for some. It was initially only a local service, but has evolved to become a fairly substantial radial trunk route across South London, connecting the hubs of Croydon and Peckham via a fairly direct routeing. Popular destinations en-route include Norwood Junction, Sydenham, Forest Hill and Dulwich Library, but like the 232 it combines local journeys with more extensive ones that would be undertaken far more quickly (and expensively) using the rail network. The frequency is always surprisingly poor, set at every 12 minutes from Monday to Saturday, with a reduction to 3 buses per hour on Sundays and during the evening. A 10 mile end-to-end journey is usually achievable in around 70 minutes and it's a pretty good one, having completed the experience myself around two years ago. It's particularly effective if you're unfamiliar with the nature of South London, giving an insight into so many different types of environment and passing an unbeatable number of iconic Morley's chicken shops. I'd also suggest stopping off at the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, something I annoyingly missed out on since it was too early in the morning.
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| My camera was pretty dirty at this point - it's always important to have a deep clean from time to time! |
Arriva London were very competent on the 197, with no particular issues being raised by local residents or enthusiasts, though admittedly their standards started to slip in the final few days. With South Croydon (TC) garage being only a few minutes further down than the terminus at Park Street, buses would frequently run light to the base between duties for driver changeover purposes, though this did make snapping outbound vehicles somewhat difficult if a substitution occurred. A plethora of double deckers could be found on route 197 every day, though none of them were particularly new. ADL Enviro 400s and Wrightbus Gemini 2 DB300s were common, but it was officially allocated a sizeable batch of Wrightbus Gemini 1 DAF/DB250s, a type which could be found exclusively around Croydon over the last couple of years. With all of them being rendered surplus after the contract change, the type can no longer be found within the capital, though the commercial route 500 does almost penetrate the boundary at its Watford terminus. Dozens of enthusiasts made the trip down South to bid farewell on Friday 30th August; other routes which used the type had just as much attention as the 197. However, a few soldiered on right until the end of September, mostly on route 466, with quite a few alleged last journeys turning out to be not quite so true. It seems unlikely that the DB250s will return, but you never know...
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| I ended up choosing a ridiculously tight spot for a route which I had only one opportunity to photograph. Thank goodness it didn't mess up! |
Go-Ahead London were always going to provide stiff competition, with their Croydon (C) garage being only a few minutes further away than Arriva's. Their sudden preference for Alexander Dennis resulted in another batch of Enviro400H MMCs being ordered, but even when they passed by on premature training runs there was something uncanny about them, perhaps because digital cameras have replaced the traditional rear view mirrors, as technology is at such a level where it is supposedly safer to rely on than us humans. We haven't received too much feedback in regards to whether these cameras reduce or create any infamous blind spots, but it must be incredibly confusing for drivers who work other services with different bus types. The MMCs are also equipped with USB charging points and Intelligent Speed Assist; the latter prevents the bus from exceeding the speed limit specific to the road travelled on - for an urban route like the 197, this is usually 20mph. As someone who prefers static regulation points over a continuously slow journey, I'm not particularly pleased about this, but there isn't really an excuse for condemning safe driving. In addition to the new vehicles, which seem to have performed well, a few Wrightbus Gemini 3 B5LHs from routes 119/202 have snuck out onto the 197, continuing the theme of variety. Despite a few hiccups on day one, this new operator have been pretty solid so far and I hope that the trend is set to continue for the next few years. Perhaps Arriva will reclaim the route then, or it could even move onto another nearby operator (Stagecoach and Abellio are serious contenders).
I wish Go-Ahead all the best for both services, thanks for reading and take care!
