Random Route: The 56

Stagecoach London 12149 at Whipps Cross.

The 56 runs from St Bartholomew's Hospital-Whipps Cross via Barbican, Islington, Dalston and Clapton. It is operated from Leyton (T) garage by Stagecoach London and Enviro 400 Hybrids displaced from the LT conversion of route 15 now work the route. They have the unique green interior and are very nice buses to ride. I've found the route very useful for short distances, such as Islington Angel-St Paul's or Dalston-Clapton, but I hadn't ridden the route all the way to Whipps Cross until February. I will share my experience of that journey here.

I arrived at St Bartholomew's Hospital early in the morning, at around 9:30 am. I walked past the telephone box where the words "Sherlock lives" are visible, which is a reference to an event that took place in the TV series. The 56 driver opened the doors a couple of minutes before the scheduled departure time and I walked straight upstairs to the front of the bus. After a 46 overtook, 12149 set off from the stand with no one else on board. Glitspur Street is an interesting road with lots of old buildings and unusual architecture, but sadly it isn't a long road either and the 56 turns right to serve St Paul's Station. After another left turning, the 56 passes the 172 stand before using the roundabout underneath the Museum Of London. The next stop is Barbican, which hosts the Barbican Centre, a tube station for the Hammersmith & City, Circle and Metropolitan Lines and some of the only houses that are found in the square mile. The 56 continues up Goswell Road, sharing bus stops with the 4 and quickly reaches Islington after passing City University. After a lot of passengers boarded the bus got stuck behind a broken LT on the 73, therefore 12149 was forced to reverse before pulling out onto Islington Green.

The 4 turns left onto Upper Street whereas the 56 serves Essex Road instead, a road which has been invaded with many New Routemasters over the past couple of years. The 56 passes the old, dilapidated looking building of Essex Road Station (I honestly think that station is haunted) but before I could think about that any longer I was at Mildmay Park, that random destination you've probably seen on countless 38's on your travels. There was one standing there when I passed it. It was at this point that a whole family boarded and took up more two rows of seats behind me and I later found out they were visiting Lea Valley Ice Centre. Next up is Dalston Junction, which was trendy a couple of years ago but now it seems quite boring and dull. The main points of interest are the oversized bus station for route 488 and Molly Bakes, the place that does Freakshakes. Don't bother with Creams, just don't....


The 38 takes the seemingly obvious route to Clapton Pond, via Hackney Town Centre. However, the 56 is the quicker option as it ducks down Amherst Road  to serve Canonbury and the communities around Downs Park Road. Within a few minutes, my bus had arrived at Clapton Pond and went round the roundabout, passing the 38 and 308 stand situated in the middle of it, however he 393 is a lone wolf and stands near the pond itself. The 56 unites with the 48 and 55 along Lea Bridge Road, a small but very busy stretch linking Hackney/Clapton-Leyton/Walthamstow, or Whipps Cross in the 56's case. Lea Valley consists of the River Lea and a huge open space. Lea Valley Ice Centre is a key point of interest on this route as many people alighted to have fun on skates. 12149 passed the construction site of  Lea Bridge Station, which is now open and well-used by the communities around Leyton.

Shortly after that is Bakers Arms, where the 48 turns left to reach Walthamstow Central and the 55 turns right to serve Tesco before terminating, however the 56 goes straight onto what was unknown territory back then. This area was mostly residential, but it was still nice to be going through a new area on a route I'd used so much in the past. I was looking forward to going to Whipps Cross, as I genuinely had no idea what it would be like. After a few minutes a selection of cafe's were in sight and Emma announced that we were out Whipps Cross Roundabout, the final stop on the 56. The good thing about riding the route Eastbound is that you get to go round nearly the whole of the roundabout itself before reaching the bus stand, which it shares with the 357. In Whipps Cross, I discovered there were lots of main roads, a public toilet, a pathway leading to the Hospital and a pond.

Despite Whipps Cross not being particularly interesting, I loved my experience on the 56. It passes through such a variety of areas and the buses on it are superb. It's high frequency will make sure it's always there for you and I definitely recommend you take a ride on this route. I rate it 9/10.

As always, thanks for reading and I'd also like to give a shoutout to everyone in Russia who has been reading my blog, I've had more views from there than the UK recently!

All Change Central

Central London has received three batches of brand new buses recently, for routes 13 (72 and 183), 26 and 53. This post will cover all of these changes and whether they are a good thing or not. In chronological order, the 26 buses came first so that is where I'll start.

Tower Tranist VN36109 crossing Waterloo Bridge on the 26, two years ago.

The 26 runs from Hackney Wick-Waterloo, serving Cambridge Heath, Liverpool Street, St Paul's and Fleet Street on the way. Despite it's low patronage, I've found the route very useful over the past couple of years as a handy alternative to the tube between Waterloo and Liverpool Street (most people are boring and choose the Waterloo and City Line). In 2011, First London won the 26 from Stagecoach along with the 25 and 30. First ordered a batch of Enviro 400s for the 26 and 30 (some are still on the 30, but others have moved on to the 69, recently won by Tower Transit) and some Gemini 2s from the 25. Towards the end of the contract, more and more of the 25 buses appeared on the 26 and I would always see one if I was somewhere along the route. However, no operator can keep the 26 for that long and First decided to leave London altogether, meaning that Tower Transit took over Lea Interchange garage. However, Tower didn't do a very good job running the 26 and CT Plus have been running the route since February, but the Enviro 400 H Cities weren't due until June so Enviro 400s had to be loaned from Tower until the new Cities arrived. What a fiasco and a half.

CT Plus 2511 at The Old Vic stand at Waterloo.

 The first bus, 2501, entered service on the 10th June in the evening rush hour. After that, the whole batch entered service in the coming weeks and the route is mostly 100% hybrid, with the occasional Scania from the 388 making it onto the route. The service has been pretty decent, despite a very rocky start. The only thing left to try out was the buses.

After a long day out in South East London, I arrived at the Waterloo Station stop feeling hot and disappointed that none of the buses I had boarded that day had working air conditioning. After giving someone directions, the 26 arrived quickly and I took the front seats, very dissatisfied that the air conditioning wasn't present. I had nearly finished two bottles of water already so I was hoping for a cool ride up to Liverpool Street. However, once the engine kicked in a blast of cold air was blown over me, which was extremely pleasant and made the whole experience ten times better.

CT Plus 2520 at Waterloo.

2520 sped along Waterloo Bridge and navigated Aldwych with ease, before tackling Fleet Street traffic. The only disadvantage with new Hybrid buses having air-con, is that when the bus is stationary the engine cuts out and so does the air-conditioning, so ideally you need non-stop running if you want to make the most of the cool air. However, I didn't let this bother me and I thoroughly enjoyed the route through the City of London, passing many empty restaurants open only to working bankers and many other packed, warm buses. There was only one other person upstairs, making the whole experience even better. Feeling refreshed, it was a shame that I had to alight at Liverpool Street as going to Hackney would make me very, very late. After a break at Spitalfields, the sensible decision would be to take the Hammersmith & City Line home, but powerful air-conditioning got the better of me and I boarded another 26 which took me back to Waterloo. I had another fantastic experience with these truly brilliant buses. They are cool, fast, quiet, comfortable and have big enough windows to see out of (apart from the front). They are a much better alternative to the LT, very nice to ride all year round and a great edition to the 26.

                                                 The story of the 53:

The 53 runs between Whitehall, Horse Guards and Plumstead Station, via Lambeth, New Cross, Charlton and Woolwich. It is a very frequent trunk route which connects areas of South East London to Central London and it is very popular because the train service provided by Southeastern is very poor. Recently, the route was curtailed to Lambeth North and this caused an uproar because people from Charlton used the 53 all the way to Whitehall to get to work and they would have to get two buses to reach their final destination. The curtailment also put lots more pressure on the 453, which parallels the 53 from Deptford-Lambeth but continues to Marylebone via Whitehall. However, TFL actually listened to the public and the route returned to Whitehall on Saturday 23rd July.

Stagecoach London 13001 at Lambeth North on the 53 to Whitehall.

The 53 has been with Stagecoach for as long as I can remember. However, the amount of new buses that have been put on the route will surprise you. Since 2010, new Scania OmniCity's, new Enviro 400's and new Gemini 3's have been used on the route. However, in 2016 another new batch of buses were ordered against the contract of the 53 and it was Enviro 400 MMCs. The first one entered service around a week ago and it was my duty to try them out, especially after my deeply unpleasant experience on the G3's two years ago.

I arrived at Waterloo hoping that one would turn up soon, seeing as they were all bunched together throughout the week. One was due in twenty minutes, so I walked down Lower Marsh (stopping at Ian Allan first) and found that 12371 was my bus. As it was a Saturday morning and I was heading East, I wasn't surprised that the bus was empty and I got the front seats. The first thing I noticed was that 12371 had very harsh acceleration and was capable of very high speeds, which made the whole experience even better. The buses definitely looked the part and the Lazzerini seats are well padded, ensuring the journey is comfortable and relaxing. The bus was flying down Old Kent Road (we did overshoot the bus stop at Bricklayer's Arms) and I would say that these buses are the best MMCs in London, so if you haven't already, please give them a try!

I alighted at Blackheath feeling very satisfied and the 53 is now a route which I look forward to riding, rather that one to avoid.

                                                The story of the 13/72/183:

On the hottest day of the year, a random Gemini 3 appeared on the London Sovereign route 13. I had no idea where it had come from or why it was there. However, it was still a new bus so I went to Swiss Cottage and snapped it.

London Sovereign VH45189 at Finchley Road on route 13.

I later found out that this bus was originally ordered for the 72, but due to Hammersmith Bridge works these Gemini 3's have been diverted to Edgware (BT) garage to displace the ageing Plaxton Presidents on the 183.

One of the VLPs that will be withdrawn soon.

For now, the 72 will remain single deck and it's new buses have been sent away to Central London, as the 13 requires Euro 6 buses anyway in time for its next contract as it enters Zone 1. The 183 will now receive six Euro 5 Hybrid Gemini 2s from the 13's current allocation and that's basically the story of why these Gemini 3s are in North West London rather than in Roehampton.

VH10 will soon be seen on the streets of Pinner.

Overall, I'm unhappy that the 13 has received a partial allocation of Gemini 3's, but I know it's good for the environment so there are some positive factors too.

This post sums up all of the changes in Central London lately, I hope you are now up to date on the recent changes to the London bus network and thanks for reading!

Random Observations- July 2016

Random Observations has returned! I will aim to publish one of these posts every couple of months, with everything that isn't related to a Random Route or Busageddon post. For this edition, I will take out ten photos at random from my album and write about them underneath.

Go-Ahead London MHV14 at Clapham Junction.

Go-Ahead were brave enough to be the first operator to order MCV's new product, the EvoSeti, for route 40 which they won off Abellio. A new bus type got all bus enthusiasts hyped, but unfortunately I was unable to ride these vehicles on the first day they came out, so I made the trip to Clapham one month later. From my experience, I learned that the EvoSeti had potential to be a great bus, but the unnecessarily wide side panels at the front window and the extremely uncomfortable seats made the journey unpleasant, so this is another vehicle I will try to avoid using. Brilliant!

Arriva Southern Counties ENR1 at Ealing Broadway.

Back in 2014, the E10 was awarded to Tellings Golden Miller for a new contract. The base is Heathrow (HE) garage and a batch of "classic" Enviro 200s were ordered for the route. However, the strenuous dead runs up the Great West Road have meant that 3425-3433 have spent a lot of time off-road and TGM often had to rely on Arriva Southern Counties to donate a DAF Cadet from Dartford (DT) for the day. However, recently TGM decided to pull out of the contract, which means that Arriva Southern Counties (now Arriva London) are now maintaining and providing a service for a route that terminates in North West London. Even stranger, the route is controlled from Garston (GR) garage, which was run by Arriva the Shires until recently, when it merged with Arriva London. I thought the E10 contract would be given back to TFL, but it seems Arriva are coping fine with running the service for now.

London Sovereign SLE40622 at Trafalgar Square working route 13.

RATP  inherited a new manager recently (from Metroline), which means some major changes to the company have been taking place recently. The first is the replacement of the old "bubbles" moquette, with a new ugly one. Secondly, a renumbering system has taken place which means buses have similar codes to Tower Transit, with a whole three new digits being added in front of the original numbers. SLE22 became SLE40622 recently and most of the fleet have been updated on London Vehicle Finder already. To be honest, I'm not a a fan of the changes and Abellio have now become my favourite operator, with Stagecoach taking second place.

Stagecoach London 13098 at Shoreditch working route 47.

Back in January, the 47 inherited a new batch of Enviro 400 MMCs, to make the route fully hybrid. It is certainly an improvement from the old ALX400s and I thoroughly enjoyed my ride from Shoreditch-Canada Water. The old buses still work the route occasionally, for all you Trident lovers...

Go-Ahead London WVN47 at Whipps Cross, working route 357.

I don't really know much about the 357, but it uses Gemini 2's from Northumberland Park (NP) garage and terminates in Whipps Cross, which doesn't exactly make the route seem attractive, but I'll ride it one day...

St John Ambulance Dart Capital on Loveday Road, Ealing.

I was on a walk one Sunday where I found a bus in the middle of a quiet side road where no buses travel at all. I found out this vehicle is used for St John Ambulance for promotion and medical purposes and I feel very privileged to have this in my local area!

Go-Ahead London LDP280 at Camberwell Green, working route 42.

 The 42 is a single deck route running from Liverpool Street-Denmark Hill. In a recent consultation, TFL want to extend the service to East Dulwich, Sainsbury's to serve communities around there. I think it's a good idea and the removal of a bus on Sunray Avenue means that the route can use double deckers. A frequency increase would solve the crowding, but the routeing is fascinating and it would be much better on a double decker. After the ELS class buses were withdrawn earlier this year, Optare Esteem buses were supposed to take over, but they seem to be back on the 355 now so older Pointers are being used on the route, but if the double decker conversion does go-ahead then they won't be on the 42 for much longer.

Here is VP491 at the CELF Centre, which is allocated to route 4.

VP491 obviously had some sort of accident recently, which is why it was resting at the CELF Centre in this condition. However, Metroline decided to repair it and it's now back on Central London routes again.

Arriva London EMC9 at Norwood Junction, working route 312.

Back in 2015, the 312 tender result was published and it was a retain for Arriva, but a whole batch of Electric Optare MetroCities were ordered to make the route fully "electric". Having said that, there is at least one diesel on the route a day, seeing as EMC2 caught fire and TFL underestimated how long these buses can run without needing a re-charge. When I took a ride, I found that the London United OCE models were far superior in terms of comfort and ride quality, but they are still nice buses and much better than Enviro 200s.

Go-Ahead London WHV75 in Croydon Town Centre, working route 119 to Purley Way, Collonades.

All you Croydon residents better be happy, two pictures from there in one post! It took quite a lot of effort to get to the 119, especially as I decided to walk from Addington Village, which was a big mistake, as it felt like I was in the countryside and the constant smell of horse odor really didn't help. It was a big relief when, after 20 minutes of "rambling", the bus came immediately. The experience wasn't great, it was quite full and I do regret my decision on taking this bus. The 64 sounds much nicer.

That's it for now, I hope you enjoyed this Random Obs post, there'll be another one fairly soon.

Random Route-The 122

Stagecoach London 12358 at Crystal Palace.

The 122 runs from Plumstead, Bus Garage to Crystal Palace in South London, passing through Woolwich, Eltham, Lewisham, Brockley and Sydenham on the way. It is run by Stagecoach London from Plumstead (PD) garage and it can see anything from E400s to Gemini 3's. It's one of my favourite routes in South London and this post will show what my experience of this route was like.

The first stop is almost outside the garage, with the station being around the corner. A bus pulled in immediately and I sunk into the comfortable lazzerini seats that I would be sitting on for the next 80 minutes. Plumstead Road was familiar territory, having passed through here on the 96. It is like a dual carriageway and the driver made the most of this by thrashing all the way until Woolwich Town Centre, where a few more passengers came upstairs, some of them miffed that the best seats on the bus were already taken.

Woolwich is quite an interesting area and it was a shame that the 122 dives out of it pretty quickly, heading straight for the South Circular Road. The Royal Artillery Barracks dominated the view to my right and it was a pretty good one. This was also where the Archery event at the 2012 Olympics was held. The brilliantly named "Ha Ha Road" brought some amusement to my journey and I was speeding past more greenery for a good few minutes. The 122 avoids Queen Elizabeth Hospital so it can reach Eltham as quickly as possible, it is a very long route anyway.

Another quirky detail is that many roads around Shooters Hill are named after Scottish places, including "Arbroath Road" and "Dunblane Road." It was at this point where the mast at Crystal Palace came into view and I thought to myself "am I really going all that way?" However, I did not get bored at all, so the long journey really didn't matter too much.

After navigating Well Hall Roundabout, the 122 briefly enters Mottingham, but it turns right at Eltham Green to head for Lewisham. This section of the route was mainly residential and I'd passed through it before on the 321, so I took this as an opportunity to review the bus itself. It was clean, the seats were comfortable, it was capable of high speeds and the engine was not faulty at all. The iBus was a bit loud, but I got used to it after a few stops.

With a 321 directly in front, the 122 didn't really stop anywhere and the journey on Lee High Road was surprisingly fast, so it came as a surprise when Emma announced "Lewisham Centre." Since it was around 11am on a Saturday, the amount of people heading to Lewisham for shopping wasn't surprising. The bus emptied out and there were only two other people upstairs at this point.

12358 sat at the bus stop for a couple of minutes, allowing numerous Catford-bound buses to overtake. However, the 122 doesn't head that way and it turned right just before Lewisham Hospital, therefore not serving it directly. This route does like to avoid hospitals. The area of Ladywell was new to me and I liked it very much. The steep Vicars Hill now makes the 484 much more attractive than it was before and the view around Adelaide Avenue was very interesting, particularly the odd location of Prendergast School.

After the detour, the 122 joins Central London routes 171/172 along Brockley Road. There happened to be a train in at Crofton Park Station, which made the view in this fairly dull area much more interesting. 12358 followed a 172 along Brockley Road until it turned left into the rather unusual stand for routes 172 and P12 at Brockley Rise. After lots of residential running, the 122 re-unites with the South Circular Road for a few stops near Forest Hill. There are two stops for Forest Hill Station, one being outside the main entrance, the other round the back. However, the locals confirmed that alighting at the first stop around the back is much quicker towards Crystal Palace, the opposite being true heading the other way.

Forest Hill isn't that big and after a few minutes 12358 was in Sydenham, sharing roads with the 176. The gradient was noticeable and it showed that the journey was coming to an end. A very sharp right turn at Sydenham Station meant the bus was heading West again, through Sydenham Hill and onto Crystal Palace Park Road. The view of the mast is amazing from here and the double decker made it really special. After eighty-something minutes, 12358 arrived at Crystal Palace Bus Station, on a lovely route through the depths of South London.

If you haven't been to South London before or you want to explore more of it, I definitely recommend the 122. It has decent buses and the routeing is very interesting and overall it scores 8/10.

I hope you enjoyed the first Random Route post on this blog, there will be more to come and watch out in case your local is reviewed!

Wright Extension, Wrong Route?

 Or is it the other way around? That's your decision, my views are explained in detail later on.


The E8 is a route run by Metroline from Brentford (AH) garage. It was very short and had much more potential to be a useful route. TFL responded to this on Saturday 28th May, when the route was given double deckers and extended to Hounslow, Bell Corner.


Before the changeover, the E8 had lots of different buses running on it. This included Optare Tempo Hybrid vehicles (which were sadly withdrawn in 2013), Enviro 200s, Dart Evolutions, Enviro 400s, 2010 Wright Gemini B9TLs and Plaxton Presidents. Recently, the Presidents were withdrawn and a bunch of MAN Evolutions displaced from the decking of route 90 were transferred down to Brentford to work the E8. They certainly did bring variety to the Ealing area and it was a shame to have to let them go so soon.

Metroline Travel MM783 at Ealing Broadway Station on a Thursday night.

Although the E8 was short, it was certainly very busy, with buses reaching full capacity from the first stop in the evening peak. When the tender result was published, it was rumoured that Enviro 400 Hybrids from Cricklewood (W) would transfer to Brentford (AH) for the extension, which would have been amazing, but unfortunately Brentford simply cannot be trusted with Hybrid vehicles, as all of the other buses they own seem to be broken...

By the end of 2015 everyone was still unsure what was going to happen to the E8, until Christmas Eve, where something very peculiar appeared on the E2.

Metroline London VW1213 with an odd front blind.

It remained the only EC-Spec Gemini at Brentford for months and people began to speculate what was actually going to happen to the E8 and why only one of these buses had transferred, given that no Brentford (AH) route was due to receive a PVR increase. However, this issue was fixed when I started seeing new style blinds in Ealing Broadway, on more than one vehicle.

Metroline London VW1215 on Northfield Avenue

It became clear that an array of Gemini 2s from various garages were quickly being rushed in for the E8 conversion. A few managed to sneak out onto the route before the changeover, but I decided to make the most of newer buses on the E2 first.

Time flew by and all of a sudden, Saturday 28th May was here and I was preparing for a unique journey, all the way from Ealing-Hounslow in one bus.

VW1262 approaches the bus stop on Boston Manor Road.

Initially, I was all for this extension, it meant that I could complete some journey's in one bus rather than two. It also meant I could avoid using the second busiest single decker route in London,  unless the E8 was running badly. There was finally going to be an indirect link between two town centres that were agonisingly close, but before the extension it required a change to travel between them, even by using the train.

On the first day, not that many people used the extension. I didn't see any bus that had more than a couple of people on board. However, I let this go seeing as the first day of an extension of a bus route always tends to be fairly quiet, as members of the general public are too scared to try out where a new local bus route will take them. However, I've been using the service for four weeks now and the journeys have still been eerily quiet. It was while I was daydreaming on the way home one Saturday, that I realised the thinking behind the extension.

The 235 is the second busiest single decker route in London, with over 5m annual riders. The busiest section is from Brentford-Feltham, with the infrequent 117 following a similar route. However, earlier this year the 116 was given Gemini 3 B5LH buses, an upgrade from the old Dart Pointers. The 116 is very busy, so this was understandable, but I later found out that it was only upgraded because this meant that TFL "didn't have to double deck the 235". The extension of the E8 was a similar story. According to TFL, extending the E8 would help the London Road corridor and its capacity problems. Coincidentally, it provided a very indirect route from Hounslow-Ealing.

An empty VW1048 overtakes a 117 at West Thames College

However, I was very upset when I found out that the 235 had been awarded to Metroline, with new single decker buses. The frequency of the 117 has not been changed either, with that going to Metroline too. The fact that a route with 5m annual ridership has not been given double deckers is downright stupid and there are a number of reasons why this will not work.

• The 235 is busiest between Hounslow and Feltham, the E8 and 116 do not provide this link
• The 117 and 237 are too busy to assist it, hence it gets packed all the time.
• This route will only get busier as time goes on.
• The E8 will not help this route apart from at school rush hour.

If TFL wanted a link from Hounslow-Ealing, the E8 would not be popular because it takes 50 minutes end to end. If the 235 was given a frequency increase and double deckers, I would be tempted to send that to Ealing Broadway. North Brentford Quarter is only 10-15 minutes away from Ealing, meaning that the total journey time would equal 30-35 minutes. This would provide a much more direct link to Ealing Broadway and assist the very busy 65, which definitely needs support between Ealing and Brentford.


There are many good things about the extension of the E8, such as new links south of Brentford Station and Boston Manor, but it really was the wrong route. For me, it's very useful, but the majority of people travelling from Ealing-Hounslow would find that the 235 would definitely be quicker than the E8.

However, it's been extended now and we can only hope that people start to use the service soon!

Busageddon: Ealing Edition

 Yes, we are back on the go! After a one and a half year break from the blogging scene, I (LBOTG) have returned to managing the blog. As you can see I have made some changes to the layout of posting/the blog itself. If you want to find out more about that, please click here.




In this edition of Busageddon there is competition in the Ealing area between Metroline West and Abellio. Metroline West have lost the E5, E7 and E9 to Hayes (WS) garage, meaning that Greenford (G) have lost 6 E-routes in the past two years. Obviously, Metroline were very angry after reading the tender result, while the whole of Abellio were feeling smug. I rode all three of the routes on the 28th May and the first was the E9.

Abellio London 9456 on route E9, at Ealing Broadway.

 The batch of E400s allocated to the E9 have been refurbished and it has certainly enhanced comfort on board these vehicles. The route itself is a short one, starting at Ealing Broadway and terminating at the Barnhill Estate in Yeading, following other routes like the E2 and E7 for most of the journey. Looking at the recently published TFL data report concerning how busy bus routes are per year, the E9 is quite far down the table. However, the reason why TFL have allocated these double deckers to the route is because at rush hour the E9 is nearly always packed. There is a lot of demand for the Pitshanger to Ealing corridor and the increasingly unreliable E2 service can't cope with the crowds. The single deckers were leaving people behind quite frequently and I think TFL have actually done the right thing, for once.

On Saturday 28th May, I arrived at Ealing Broadway, very excited about finally riding this local route end to end. A minute later, 9463 pulled up and I managed to bag the front seats, which have had a ton of padding added to them. My driver was clearly in a hurry as we sped through Pitshanger and up Scotch Common, leaving the E2 that was in front very far behind. However, by Gurnell Leisure Centre I had noticed a problem with the bus.

The refurbishment of these vehicles was clearly very rushed, as there was a door issue on the first day of it entering service after returning from the workshop. The doors made odd noises and didn't close very smoothly. The issues were so bad that 9463 decided to break down at Greenford Broadway.  The bus sat there in silence for more than 15 minutes, but it decided to work again just as the E9 behind pulled into the stop.

On the way to Yeading, the driver still decided to floor the bus, now being over 30 minutes late. It had been a very enjoyable ride, but the stop at Greenford meant that it could've been even better. The final section of the route is Hail and Ride, which is very interesting for a DD service, it's a shame that no one used it on my trip. On the whole, the E9 has been significantly improved from the service Metroline West provided and has moved up the hierarchy of E-routes. I particularly like the contrasting areas this bus passes through. The area of Pitshanger is very wealthy and boasts "the best high street in Britain", whereas Yeading is much, much poorer. However, in a perfect world there wouldn't be "rich" or "poor" areas, but society today is very different to what we hoped it would be some years ago.

These buses also have blinds for other Hayes (WS) routes, like the E1 and 350. Here is 9456 during a blindscroll.

9456 displaying a curtailment point used on route E1.

 There was also a banditised MMC out on the route that day and I was lucky enough to see it at Greenford Broadway. The photo quality isn't great, so I apologise for that, but I will upload it anyway seeing as it was a rare working back then.

It didn't even have a piece of paper in the window!

After catching a 120 from Yeading White Hart to Southall Broadway, it was time to do the E5.


The E5 is a long, single decker route starting at Southall, Toplocks Estate and terminating at Perivale Tesco. It links up many estates in and around the Greenford and Southall areas and uses single door buses as a result. Metroline West used to run the route from Greenford (G) garage, but lost it to Abellio with brand new Enviro 200 MMCs, numbered 8142-8154, following on from the 481 batch. The route does get very busy and is very useful in case you find yourself stranded in Perivale and the 297 is being its unreliable self.

The E5 is pretty much the only way into the Toplocks Estate, with nowhere else to walk heading North, South or East. However, there is a branch of the Grand Union Canal near where the E5 stands, where if you walk for miles you will eventually end up in Brentford. However, I shall have to save that for another day, as my bus was ready to leave, with a few other people on board noticing that the bus was very new.

Abellio London 8143 on stand at Toplocks Estate/Glade Lane

The route didn't look that appealing from studying it on maps, so this journey was really a test of the bus. I had high hopes, considering that these buses had hit 50mph on the U9 on Harvil Road a couple of days before the changeover. However, my driver clearly wasn't interested in speed and by the time the bus had left Southall Broadway we had barely touched 10mph the whole way. The pace did not quicken at all as the bus entered the Hail and Ride section off Lady Margaret Road and Golf Links Estate. What made it worse is that the E5 does not offer amazing views, just house after house after house. On Greenford Road another E5 overtook my bus, meaning that 8143 was running very late. The only positive thing about my experience was seeing Greenford Depot on the way, the E5's former home, with a few Metroline buses parked up. By the time I had reached Greenford Broadway I was bored and couldn't wait to get off, so I left the bus early, very disappointed with my journey.

Overall, I can learn that the E5 really is a terrible route. It had great potential, being run by my favourite company and having E200 MMCs, a type of single decker that I have a passion for. However, it was so boring that even those two positive factors went straight out of the window.

Abellio London 8149 at Greenford Broadway.

My advice for you is, if you haven't covered the E-route changes yet, don't bother with the E5. It may even ruin your day.



The E7 is a long route running from Ealing Broadway-Ruislip, passing through West Ealing, Greenford, Yeading and Ruislip Gardens along the way. With Metroline West, the service was terrible and I completely avoided it, despite the routeing being very promising. However,  I was thrilled after reading the tender result that Abellio were gaining more routes in my area, and a batch of long MMCs (8865-8875) were ordered. I saw a few of them on training duties at Ealing Broadway in the weeks leading up to the changeover and this only increased my excitement and desperation for the 28th May to arrive.

Abellio London 8873 at Greenford Broadway.

After the awful journey on 8143, I was feeling quite miserable at Greenford Broadway. I just wanted to get the E7 over and done with, I'm doing it end to end this summer anyway. I waited a few minutes for my bus to arrive and managed to snap the MMC E9 and a Ruislip-bound bus heading in the other direction.

Abellio London 8872 at Greenford Lidl, heading towards Ruislip.

Eventually, my bus showed up and it was surprisingly empty. My favourite seats were available and the bright Abellio interior managed to lift my spirits considerably. The bus was speeding along Ruislip Road East and it was at this moment when I suddenly realised how lucky I was. I now had the third best type of single decker around a 10 minute walk away and on one of the best single deck routes left in Ealing. I sat back and got comfortable in the Lazzerini seats and loved every minute of the journey, despite the view out of window being very familiar. I arrived at Ealing Broadway feeling astonished that the journey was over and if you still haven't covered the E-route changes, I highly recommend this route as you will almost definitely leave the bus feeling happy, just like I did. Abellio have improved the service so much that I even hop on the E7 for a few stops on the way every now and then and I cannot wait to ride this route all the way to Ruislip.

Abellio London 8870 at Ealing Broadway.

 The E5's former buses have been stood down for now, their future is uncertain. The former E7 vehicles have been used to upgrade the E6 to E200 operation, thus getting rid of the ageing Dart Pointers that have spent years running between Bull's Bridge and Greenford. The E6 and 195 have also transferred to Greenford (G) to fill up some empty space. These are also very positive things!


In conclusion, I am very impressed with Abellio and the changes to the E-line services. The E9 has been improved considerably, the E5 has got slightly better by using a half-decent bus type and the E7 has become a route I have fallen in love with and I now use it every week. My local area now has a lot more variety and I do hope some more operators will venture into the Ealing area and decrease the amount of Metroline routes that are run so, so badly.

I hope you have enjoyed this post, the first one of 2016. There will be many more to come, hopefully...

What's happened-October 2014

Sadly, posts will now be reduced to once a month, due to me being VERY busy at the moment. For more regular updates, see my flickr photostream. A link is given on the side of the page.The monthly posts will give a picture or two of service changes and will also give other observations. Here is the October/September one (I know it's a tad late):


                                         Part 1-changes:


                                             Route 49:


The 49's contract was lost from London United to Abellio from Battersea (QB) garage on 6th September 2014. The old 49's allocation consisted of Vyking's and Scania OmniCity's. Two of the Scania's transferred to Stamford Brook (V) garage, for use on the E3.

SP36 travels down Northfield Avenue.

  The new buses, which were Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 Hybrids, arrived early, and were the first buses in London with 64-reg plates.

This is not a bus from the 49's batch, it is from an earlier batch of E400Hs delivered for the C3 in June. Appearances of these are daily.

2465 and 2466 were also part of the 49 batch, but they were delivered in August and carried '14' plates. They rarely appear on the 49, and here is 2465 on the 3:

 The 49's '64' plate buses are having days out on other Battersea routes, like the 344:

 Overall, the service has improved, and the buses are very bright inside and are as good as any other Abellio E400 Hybrid.

                                                             Route 112: 


The old 112 consisted of Dart Nimbuses, and it was run poorly by Abellio, from Hayes (WS) garage.
The contract was awarded to Metroline from Cricklewood (W) garage, with new 10.8m E200s. But, these buses were extremely late on arrival (three months late, in fact) so double deckers were temporarily used on the route.

TA649 swings round the roundabout at Ealing Broadway on the first day of Metroline operation on this route.

 Despite many people stating that the 112 should remain a double decker, as the route gets very busy and is traffic prone. However, TFL didn't listen at the end of October, new buses started appearing on the 112 and 232.

                                                                 
                          They are the only two route changes I have at the moment, mostly because of late buses. Having said that, there are some very interesting odd workings and new buses that have caught my eye, and here they are:

The rear of a rare appearance on route 219. An Optare Esteem works the route rather than the dedicated batch of Wright StreetLites that normally run the route.

Route 43 has received a temporary curtailment. The buses are now only going as far as Muswell Hill Broadway, but they would normally travel to Friern Barnet. I got this shot by pure coincidence, as I was catching the 43 to get to Archway.

Since the sad conversion of route 7 to Gemini 3 operation, Gemini 2's have become very common on this route. I am hoping to ride one soon, as the Gemini 3's that run the route completely ruined it.

London Vehicle Finder lied on Saturday 13th September 2014. It stated that a brand new bus (fleetnumber OC1) had entered service on route E11, which normally uses single door E200s. As the E11 is a local route, I decided to chase this bus, but I was fuming when I saw this. The bus wasn't OC1, it was SDE14, a reinstated E200 that was withdrawn from the E11 a few months ago. OC1 did enter service, but on route H98 in Hounslow.

The Nimbuses from route 112 transferred to the 235, Here is one at Brentford.

A very appearance sees a Dart Pointer from routes H18/19 have a day out on route 268. No one else has a picture of this, and I'm surprised I only have 4 faves for this on flickr, as this is extremely rare.

Since route 110 transferred to Hounslow (AV) garage, it has been possible for low height Scania DDs to appear on the route. Here is one at Busch Corner.

 Thanks for reading, and sorry it's so late!

New Flickr Photostream Up And Running!

I have created a new flickr photostream! Here is the link: www.flickr.com/photos/126819035@N04/

You will get a sneak preview of pictures that will appear on my blog, and I'm sure you'll be satisfied with stuff like this:

Thanks for reading!

P.S: I am so sorry for the late posts, but once school is over, the posts will be coming (hopefully) almost every day! But for now, you'll have to cope with hardly any posts. In the mean time, you can explore the flickr page!

Useful Info For Tourists; Three Recommended Bus Routes In London

       Hello readers, this post will tell you about the top three recommended bus routes in London. This will be very handy for tourists, but also for people who want a greater understanding of how awesome London is. Some regular London bus routes are almost like sightseeing tours, and who would want to spend well over 40 or 50 pounds when some other London bus routes can show you everything for £1.45 a ride. Remember, you cannot pay cash on London's buses,  you have to use your oyster cards, travelcards, or contactless cards. On two door buses, board at the front and alight at the back. On three door buses, you can board and alight from any door. I wouldn't recommend using one door buses, as they are mainly used for bus routes that go round tight turns in housing estates in greater London.
       
        If boarding a double decker bus, go upstairs and try to get the seats right at the front, so you can enjoy fantastic views of London. If the sun goes into your eyes too much in those seats, three from the front on the left and the seats directly behind the stairwell are also good for views. If you are unable to go upstairs, try and grab a seat near the front of the bus or the raised seats near the back, for some pretty good views as well. Some buses have seats right at the front downstairs, and they give brilliant views too! On a single decker bus, try and either sit near the front (but not the sideways seats) or on the raised seats near the back. If the bus is so full and nearly no seats are available, catch the next one. The bus service on most London bus routes is outstanding compared to other cities. Also, if you're from another country and you are struggling to read this, find our translate button on the right hand side of the blog. There are lots of languages to choose from! Now, all the basic stuff is over, we can move onto the three brilliant bus routes. And just to let you know, you don't just have to ride all the bus routes that I recommend, and you don't have to ride these either, you can decide which ones you think are the best and just ride those instead!


                                               Bus Route 11:

LT66 at Trafalgar Square.

I personally don't like these buses, due to the ridiculously small windows on the upper deck. Still, if you follow my wise instructions you should be able to enjoy some fabulous views. Thanks to London's fabulous iBus system and tube, you can know where to get off and on, as the buses announce the stop names and where the bus is going, and there is also a screen displaying what the next stop is and where the bus is going.

iBus screen on bus route 11, stating the bus is terminating at Liverpool Street.

 I would suggest getting on the bus at the very start of the route at Liverpool Street Bus Station. Catch the bus towards Fulham Broadway. Try and be the first in the queue, board at the front doors and try to get up the stairs as quickly as possible. If you are staying downstairs, try and sit in the best seats possible. You should do this for every bus route you board, unless it is a single decker. The 11 is a double decker, like most touristy bus routes in London. It passes many tourist attractions, including:

• Liverpool Street Station,
• Bank of England. 
• St. Paul's Cathedral
• Fleet Street
• Aldwych/The Strand
• Trafalgar Square
• Whitehall
• Parliament Square (for Houses Of Parliament, Big Ben and London Eye).

        If you want to stay in Central London, I would suggest alighting at the stop "Westminster Station/Parliament Square." However, the bus does continue west and goes past Victoria, Sloane Square and Kings Road. But, by the time the bus is in Fulham, there is nothing to see and it'll be quite hard to get back into Central London again.

                                                   Bus Route 23:

    The buses on route 23 have quite large windows, which are perfect for viewing sights in London. This route also starts at Liverpool Street Bus Station, and it follows the 11 until Trafalgar Square. Catch the 23 towards Westbourne Park, and follow my seating instructions. This bus passes lots and lots of tourist attractions, and goes through some lovely areas of London.

BE WARNED: This bus route gets incredibly busy which is why I'm telling you to get on at the start of the route at Liverpool Street. This bus route also gets stuck in horrific traffic on Oxford Street and Regent Street, so try not to use this route in rush hour (7-9:30 am, 4-7:30 pm). It passes:

• Liverpool Street Station
• Bank of England
• St Paul's Cathedral
• Fleet Street
• Aldwych/The Strand
• Trafalgar Square
• Piccadilly Circus/Regent Street
• Oxford Circus/Oxford Street
• Marble Arch
• Paddington Station

            If you happen to be riding the route on any day except Sunday and Thursday you can also explore the wonderful Portobello Road Market, by staying on further than Paddington Station and alighting at "Colville Road", the closest stop to the market.

                                     Bus Route 15(H):
I apologise for the fact I don't have a picture. But, a heritage shuttle service runs along the number 15 route between Trafalgar Square and Tower Hill, using old Routemasters!! This is the only bus route to use them on a daily basis, and it will certainly be a unique experience. They are so old they don't have the iBus screen/announcements on them, so I would just recommend riding the bus route right from one end to another.  It runs between 9:30am and 6:30pm, from Trafalgar Square-Tower Hill. It passes:

• Trafalgar Square
• Aldwych/The Strand
• Fleet Street
• St. Paul's Cathedral

• Tower Of London 

And, they're the top three routes for tourists! Thanks for reading, and I hope you get a better understanding of how awesome London is.


Postscript:  Other recommended bus routes: 88, 139, RV1, 24



 Another Postscript: Sorry there hasn't been an update for ages, but I've been so busy with schoolwork and stuff like that. Also, I've recently suffered from an illness which has prevented me from going out of the house. I should be playing catch up soon! Thanks for bearing with me, readers, I know you're probably fed up with these long gaps.

Notice/Random Obs 13th September 2014

Hello readers. Posts will now be very infrequent due to school work taking priority. Expect posts to be around once a week, and bus service contract change posts will prioritize. Expect posts to be late as well, but I will do my very best to keep them (kind of) on time. Anyway, here is a little Random Obs for you:

Massive logo on SEL764!

Transferred Scania on the 262.

Transferred Scania on the 473. They look so good with white blinds!

Routemaster outside Stockwell Bus Garage on 21st June 2014.

One of the most infrequent bus routes in London is the 481, which I used to get to Fulwell open day. It's a shame that it has to go through Whitton.

Ex-148 Scania on the 281.

Refurbished Enviro on the 607. I'm glad they've received a refurbishment, they needed it! They were dirty buses, and I'm surprised the extremely noisy Gemini 1's that also run the route haven't been refurbished.

K3 in the rain.

A K2 departs Cromwell Road Bus Station.

The K1 has now received a frequency increase, which means ageing Dart Pointer 8041 has had to cover for this. Here is one of the E200s that make up the main allocation.

The very circuitous route 371 runs from Richmond-Kingston. The 65 takes half the time this does to get between the two places.

Here is an ALX400 on the 131. At the moment, the 57 and the 131 have swapped allocation, so the ex-9 VLEs will now be pounding along Coombe Lane and Colliers Wood.

Unallocated G2 on the 85. This bus is supposed to work the 22, but has taken a greater liking to almost every other Putney double deck route.

 One of the regular Scania's that work the 111.

 

Dart Pointer on the 216.

Mansfield Park is an estate near Chessington, not a novel made in the 1900s.

Minibus on the K5, which runs hourly. There are a lot of infrequent bus routes in Kingston!

A 295 Gemini 2 overtakes an 8 year old Enviro working the 211.

Wow, I didn't know the 9 had been diverted to terminate at Lancaster Gate! Nah, this bus was going through the 148 destinations while at Hammersmith Bus Station.

 Thanks for reading!