Go Away, Give North London Independance

Amongst the excitement on Saturday 3rd February 2018, two routes in North London had their contracts awarded to different operators whilst a third gained new buses for a retention. Although they don't all meet at any single point, all three serve the bottom chunk of the London Borough of Enfield and Go-Ahead London were the losers here, giving up routes 299 and W4 to independent operator Sullivan Buses and the much more substantial Arriva London respectively.

Go-Ahead London SEN17 is seen at Southgate on route 299.

Originating in Cockfosters, the 299 is predominantly a quiet residential route, serving the back streets of the outer London suburb Oakwood before dropping off travellers to the urban town centre of Southgate. After this, it generally sticks to main roads but the nature of the surroundings still remains fairly monotonous, with the only points of interest being a steep hill on Alexandra Park Road, crossing the North Circular Road near Bounds Green Station and the pretty Broomfield Park. I was left disappointed after my end-to-end ride on the 299, as the routeing itself is pretty dull and all the houses pretty much looked the same - in fact, the only riveting sections were the somewhat rural approach to Cockfosters and the high street at Southgate and I honestly think there are much more interesting routes in this part of North London, especially since the new buses have taken over. Of course, this is subject to opinion and some enthusiasts will like  Wrightbus Streetlites, but there's more on them later.

One advantage of the 299 is its fairly short length, taking no more than 40 minutes to cover the six miles between Muswell Hill and Cockfosters. A modest 15 minute frequency is generally suitable for demand and the route soaks up seven buses at rush hour. Under Go-Ahead the 299 used dual door 2011-plate ADL Enviro 200s, which were inherited from First after they sold Northumberland Park (NP) garage, although occasionally other types including the endangered Marshall Capital would appear. Generally, there were no real complaints regarding the reliability or buses provided by Go-Ahead, with the loss being overshadowed by the gain achieved by Sullivan Buses ; the 299 is now their fourth mainstream TFL service and it prompted the first batch of Wrightbus Streetlites for the company.

Sullivan Buses SL90 is seen along Alexandra Park Road on route 299 to Muswell Hill.

As usual, SL90-97 carry the personalised number plates which Sullivan Buses always order for new buses, in addition to the TFL-spec interior livery and the buses have been used on the other two single deck routes at South Mimms (SM) garage, the 298 and W9, with the former being used as a testing ground for the new vehicles a few days before the 299 takeover. Generally, I'm not a fan of Wrightbus Streetlites, especially the longer variants, because their interior layout just makes it so unncessarily difficult to enjoy the view outside, having ridiculously small windows towards the rear along with loads of glass barriers in front of the seats which even distort the view outside of the front windscreen. They feel cramped and this sensation is particularly noticeable on the 299 examples, as they are 9.7m in length and are therefore shorter than the standard examples but still have two doors. This made the entire journey feel very uncomfortable, preventing any sense of appreciation for the 299's routeing - it definitely isn't top 10 material but I found that the vehicle detracted from my enjoyment significantly. However, lots of enthusiasts have praised this batch as apparently they can reach high speeds, although if you're a strong advocate of that theory I'd suggest trying SL93 first as that bus was truly awful, having no power and refusing to leave first gear, which ultimately resulted in an end-to-end 299 journey that didn't exceed 10mph. The bus wasn't even overreving badly, as that at least provided some amusement to when I had an E200 stuck in first gear on the 143 a few weeks ago. Therefore, in general I'm not too happy about the 299 change, although my opinion on the bus model should really be inferior to the views of the general public and Sullivan Buses' service delivery so far, which is the focaliser of the next paragraph.

Sullivan Buses SL93 is seen near Muswell Hill on the 299 to Cockfosters.

The first day of operation presented some challenges for Sullivan Buses, although in general the service levels were deemed acceptable and this has remained the case since then, apart from the occasional lapse in rush hour. Unusually, the reliability most commonly deteriorates late in the evening, particularly after 9pm, where sometimes the buses run around in pairs despite the 20 minute frequency - normally the punctuality of bus routes improves in the late evenings as road traffic conditions are much clearer. My personal conspiracy theory for this bizarre matter is that the route isn't actually being controlled or overlooked by anyone at the depot during the evening - Sullivan Buses only opened up their iBus room very recently and perhaps they couldn't recruit anyone for the night shift yet. However, you can probably take this with a pinch of salt as it's just something that came to me the other day out of the blue. So far, there have been no odd workings on the 299 under the new contract, although there is always the possibility of existing Enviro 200s if they are reblinded. In conclusion, with my enthusiast mindset the 299 change can be viewed as disheartening, with the introduction of those horrible Wrightbus Streetlites which simply irritate me to the point I can't enjoy the journey. However, unless you concretely share my views on this type it might be worth checking out the route anyway, in case there are some hidden gems within the initially dry routeing presented on my journey. Just avoid SL93 as that was unbearable. I wish Sullivan Buses the best of luck with maintaining the Streetlites and their immaculate interior presentation, as well as running a satisfactory service for the 299 - it's a positive start and if they can work on the punctuality of the last few trips the standards will easily match those provided by Go-Ahead.

Go-Ahead London SEN10 is seen at Wood Green on the W4.

Some bus routes in London may initially look tedious from map studies or reports from other enthusiasts, although the W4 proved exactly why it's always worth trying something out, on the off-chance that your expectations are exceeded significantly. Both termini of the W4 are very unusual and I started my journey at Oakthorpe Park under the new contract - the first stop is just alongside a dual carriageway with not much to see elsewhere bar a crusty footbridge which can offer some decent views of the passing traffic underneath, although the noise of traffic constantly roaring past provided some much-needed entertainment during my wait. After this the W4 weaves through the back streets of Palmers Green on a hail and ride basis, although the occasional park or public house do provide some balance between relentless residential property.

Before any sense of boredom became apparent, the W4 returns to a main road and travels right through the heart of Wood Green, something which is quite fun to do on a mini single decker - usually this route underneath the shopping centre is associated with important double deck routes like the 29, 123 and 141, so traversing it on a very different model was certainly an interesting experience. After this urban replenishment, the W4 becomes residential yet again, serving some extremely narrow streets in the West Green area, although arguably the most interesting section is here, where the W4 undertakes a one-way loop to serve the expansive Broadwater Farm Estate, being the only route to do so.

Arriva London ENN41 is seen on the W4 to Oakthorpe Park.

The contrast between white terraced housing and the countless towering apartment blocks is quite mesmerising, with each tenement having a unique characteristic, whether that being a ziggurat structure or the somewhat admirable graffiti art. The other factor which impressed me was the sheer size of the area, it looked like it stretched out for miles at the W4 stop underneath a link bridge, adjacent to some community shops providing essentials to local residents within a short distance. There are indeed negative connotations surrounding this estate and perhaps the conditions are still quite unpleasant for the tenants, but exploring these parts of London is eye-opening and allows us to reflect on matters such as inequality, but also the architecture of this huge complex - it's brutally beautiful. After here, the W4 serves some more sections of terraced housing before entering the hustle and bustle of Bruce Grove and Tottenham High Road, along with the recently developed retail parks. Tottenham Hale Bus Station is a busy interchange where most routes terminate, although the W4 soldiers on for a few more minutes, serving the Ferry Lane Estate.

This is nowhere near as vast as Broadwater Farm and there is definitely evidence of this area being formerly industrial, although it's in a very odd location, marooned between the Greater Anglia rail line to Cambridge and the Tottenham reservoirs, so all the housing is contained in this very short space with no room whatsover to expand outwards. It's a very odd terminating point, being an isolated and quiet area which is so close to the thriving Tottenham Town Centre, although it feels as if it's one hundred miles away. Within the tranquility an unsettling tone was also created - perhaps the dire state of the construction site next to the train tracks partially contributes to this, along with the occasional lack of pavement if you choose to walk out of the estate. Yes, I have deviated significantly from the aspect of route changes, but hopefully I've been able to convey how much the W4 surprised me, being one of my favourite single decker routes of North London for offering such an enthralling insight into an area I thought I was familiar with, although this clearly isn't the case.

Go-Ahead London operated the W4 from Northumberland Park (NP) garage, using a batch of SEN-class ADL Enviro 200s which were almost identical to the 299 examples, apart from the lack of a second door with the W4 buses. Occasionally, Wrightbus Streetlites would appear on this route and even some of the longer vehicles ventured out onto the W4 from time to time, although how they navigated some of the tight turns in West Green is beyond me. A peak vehicle requirement of 14 buses satisfy the 10 minute frequency, which may sound quite high for a single deck route but is entirely inadequate for the W4 - almost every area it passes through has very high bus usage and this means that the short E200s are almost always filled up, with my bus being packed up to the driver's cab on the approach to Wood Green at 11:30 on a weekday. In terms of their service and vehicle provision, Go-Ahead weren't viewed as particularly awful on this route - the reliability was patchy but that is to be expected for a route like the W4, which serves traffic hotspots as well as tight residential streets where buses often get stuck. Enthusiasts were quite happy with Arriva taking over the operation of the W4, given that the change is a homecoming as this company ran the route before First took over a few years ago (which then became Go-Ahead after First sold the garage).

Arriva London ENN39 is seen at Ferry Lane Estate at the end of a W4 journey.

Arriva London ordered sixteen ENN-class 9.0m ADL Enviro 200 MMCs for the W4, which entered service promptly and subsequently no other types have been used on the route since the new contract. The route is based at Wood Green (WN) garage which is conveniently right in the middle of the route and the Enviro 200 MMCs themselves are quite nice vehicles, not having an overpowering interior colour scheme, although a potentially powerful engine is also apparent, which is rather satisfying to listen to even at low speeds. Unusually, Arriva seem to have reverted to using yellow poles for the interior livery of these new vehicles, rather than the cream-coloured ones which were used on the previous MMCs Arriva ordered for the 377. Day one of Arriva operation coincided with roadworks in Wood Green, which completely wrecked the service and caused gaps lasting well over 40 minutes and a countless number of curtailments, especially in the afternoon, although since then the route has been performing well, which can perhaps be explained by the fact that Arriva already have experience with the W4 in its current form, bar the slight diversion in Tottenham which occurred a couple of years ago with all the gyratory works. I still don't properly understand what's changed other than that the bus station was rebuilt and now all the roads are two-way. There's still some form of development going on with the train station as accessing the platforms is it a bit of a mess at the moment - even the oyster barriers are outside!

Arriva London ENN43 is seen near Muswell Hill on route 184.

Even though the W4 hasn't seen any other bus types, nothing has stopped its allocation from spreading their wings onto the challenging route 184, between Barnet and Turnpike Lane. Its own batch of longer E200s have clearly been having problems recently, with the route having to borrow both the W4 vehicles and occasionally double deckers from the 29 on an almost daily basis, with the former option not being ideal for the oversubscribed 184 service. As this particular section has lingered on for ages now, a summary should hopefully assist you in consolidating the W4 change ; the route was lost from Go-Ahead to Arriva with new MMCs and the service levels are decent so far. It's also a really fascinating route which is honestly it's a brilliant way to spend your time if you like exploring different areas of London and getting to know this diverse city, beyond all the tourist traps in zone one.

Arriva London ENS39 is seen at Southgate on route W6 to Edmonton Green.

No, this is not another example of the W4 buses straying, although the only immediately obvious difference is the appearance of a second door, although even that isn't very clear with this contemptible picture - unfortunately Southgate Station is an absolute pain for snapping buses and I completely forgot to try again after alighting, mostly because the driver decided to let me off a whole 30 seconds after I pressed the bell on a hail & ride section, which meant that I got distracted in trying to find a more appropriate walking route. The W6 was retained by Arriva on Saturday 3rd February and it was simply a matter of displacing old Dart Pointers with the more modern equivalent - Enviro 200 MMCs. They entered service very prematurely, some of them as early as November and I'm sure regular commuters are relieved to finally have new buses on this short, but overcrowded service. Running between Edmonton Green and Southgate at a 10 minute frequency, it's a handy method of linking the two town centres, in addition to serving some housing alone, all within half an hour. The new buses are based at Enfield (E) garage and haven't strayed onto any other single deck routes there, as they are too long for the 377 whilst sending one out on the 313 would be entirely inappropriate given how busy it gets. The service levels provided by Arriva have always been adequate and hopefully this continues for the next few years.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

Go-Ahead, Swap The Allocations

You might remember a post towards the beginning of January documenting some changes to Go-Ahead London (GAL) single deck routes, which included the story of the 170 receiving new Wrightbus Streetlites and its diversion away from Lombard Road in Battersea due to a safety issue. Shortly after the post was published, more details emerged on the problem in question and how a permanent solution was required - this means that routes 170 and 286 now have another post dedicated to them. Additionally, the acquirement of single deck route 153 by GAL seems quite fitting to publish here and hopefully you find entertainment in reading the first post on the blog in almost two months - I cannot apologise enough for the prolonged waiting around ; it's been a rather stressful few weeks recently with personal events clogging up effectively all of my free time. However, a sense of normality can be resumed for now and I now intend to start retrieving information about what I've missed over the past couple of months in the fascinating world of transport and eventually convey it to my viewers.

Go-Ahead London WS114 is seen in Westcombe Park on route 286 to Greenwich.

The embarrassing situation regarding the 170 safety issue is quite a complicated affair, but essentially what happened is that a driver noticed that his brand new Wrightbus Streetlite was legally too tall to travel under a bridge, even though other buses did (just about) make it. However, safety is always a priority and once centre comm were informed TFL decided to simply divert the 170 away from the low bridge, missing out a very dense housing area in which no other bus serves. The diversion, which lasted for weeks, caused an understandable outrage from Battersea residents, who demanded that their bus service was returned. As a result, the new Streetlites were taken off the 170 after only a few weeks in service, with all of them transferring to Morden Wharf (MG) garage in South-East London within a couple of days. Their new home is the busy route 286, running between Greenwich Cutty Sark and Queen Mary's Hospital via Blackheath and Eltham - this route also featured in the January posting due to its partial allocation of the Wrightbus Electrocity vehicles displaced from the 360. The Streetlites have settled into their new home quite well, although for the first week lots of them were running around with slipboards like the example above, as the decision to swap the allocations was a last minute deal and the new blinds took a while to arrive. However, all of them are fully equipped now and these 67-reg buses make up 90% of the 286 allocation, with one older demonstrator of the same model and the solitary remaining ADL E200 making up the numbers.

Go-Ahead London SE209 is seen at Clapham Junction on route 170.

As you might've already guessed, the absence of the Streetlites from the 170 was filled with the 14-plate ADL E200s that previously worked the 286 ; these buses transferred to Stockwell (SW)  swiftly and were fitted with blinds quite quickly, although there were still a few banditised buses at the start of their operation. All bar one of the new SEs make up the new allocation of the 170 and the mysterious disappearance of the 60-plate E200s from December has been resolved, with most of them returning from a refurbishment programme. This means that most of the old Dart Pointer vehicles are now withdrawn, so realistically you only have until the end of this week to catch one. Hopefully, a long-term plan has been sorted for the 170 and 286 so I won't have to trek to South-East London again for the sake of writing an unplanned follow-up post. I also hope that stability can be provided for the poor drivers, some of whom feel violated that their preferred type has been taken away from them at such short notice. However, the most important matter regarding the Battersea residents keeping their bus service has been resolved and hopefully they can start to rely on the 170 once again, albeit with a different bus type.

CT Plus DA4 is seen at Barbican Station on route 153 to Finsbury Park Station.

 Saturday 3rd February 2018 was undoubtedly a sorrowful day for CT Plus, where route 153 passed to Go-Ahead London, resulting in the former company losing the first London bus route they gained back in 2001, initially with some Caetano Nimbus vehicles and later the 62-reg Enviro 200s, which have all left London since. The 153 itself is one of my favourite single deck routes in the city, currently running between Finsbury Park and Moorgate, serving Holloway, Islington and the Clerkenwell area en route. There are essentially three different sections on the 153, with the Finsbury Park-Holloway part being urban, traversing along high streets and main roads.

After this, the 153 becomes residential, travelling through the eye-opening Westbourne Estate as well as the affluent area surrounding Copenhagen Street, which feels quite quaint, especially at 8am on a sunny winter morning. However, my favourite section of the 153 and arguably the most unique part, is between Angel and Moorgate, where the route travels through the office district surrounding Clerkenwell via St John Street, Goswell Road and Beech Street, in addition to serving City University and the Barbican Centre. I love this because no other TFL route dives into this wonderful part of Central London in much detail - the single decker weaves through the streets which are particularly effective at showcasing London's magnificent architecture, especially the towering skyscrapers which are both marvellous yet somewhat daunting to look at.

Despite this, a few minutes away lie some more tower blocks, but of the inner-city council estates and I always find it hard to imagine that the two very different settlements lie so close to each other. This area is often deserted and usually the buses are empty too, although I suspect in rush hour this is an entirely different story. The 153 is also the only route to serve the Beech Street tunnel which is always fun to travel through and hopefully once the Crossrail works are complete the 153 can return to Liverpool Street, its official terminus which is much more accessible than Finsbury Square.

Hopefully you can understand why the 153 feels so different to many other monotonous single deck routes - despite its short length you're provided with three generous insights into completely contrasting environments, with the section through the workplaces being like no other route, offering a perspective you simply can't endeavour from the mainstream 4/56 or 55/243 corridors along the main roads. However, if the residential parts of Clerkenwell appeal to you (and I also recommend exploring them, it's very interesting to travel through given its proximity to the city centre) the non-TFL 812 is brilliant for this, serving a huge number of side roads that even the 153 can't hack. Using a cute yellow minibus, you can pay £1.00 by cash to enjoy this masterpiece of a route and if you need any more assistance with finding the 812 please drop a comment below.

This proof read has revealed that I have made a slight deviation from the intentional short summary of the 153 routeing, although this arguably only emphasises the extent to which I encourage you to go out and try it yourself, in addition to my relief when I found out the route was receiving a decent (in my opinion) batch of single deckers in terms of their interior layout and the ability of being able to admire the external surroundings through the windows, based on previous examples.

Go-Ahead London SEe70 is a brand new E200 MMC EV, seen on Hemingford Road on route 153 to Moorgate, Finsbury Square

Being a 6 mile route with a 12 minute frequency at most times, 11 buses satisfy the peak vehicle requirement and a dozen electric ADL E200 MMC vehicles were ordered for the new contract. In addition to this main allocation, a BYD integral demonstrator, dubbed "EB3", occasionally works the service. The introduction of electric vehicles on the 153, due to Central London emission standards, has resulted in the installation of new charging facilities at Northumberland Park (NP) garage, where the 153 is based - in 2019 it is expected that route 214 will also run from here. So far, the buses themselves haven't received any notable complaints, offering a smoother journey than the previous E200s and a contrasting interior, which was noticed by local residents on my particular journey who didn't seem to like the darker shades of blue used in Go-Ahead seating, although personally I seem to think this makes the bus more pleasant to travel on than being emblazoned with bright yellow and red surrounding the entire interior of the vehicle. These buses are much more similar to the 360 examples than the ones on the red arrow routes, with not much sound at all from the engine and an expected lack of acceleration or power, although the extremely noisy air conditioning units along with some other vibrations mean the journey isn't completely silent, which is a relief in my opinion as I would find complete silence a tad demoralising and I find that it detracts from the overall passenger experience, although I suspect the opinion from a non-enthusiast differs greatly. Apart from the obvious differences in the technicalities of the vehicles, the interior is pretty similar to a bog standard E200 MMC and in my opinion they are a satisfactory replacement for the DA-class Enviro 200s that were the mainstay of the 153 for many years.

Go-Ahead London SEe74 is seen near Copenhagen Street on the 153 to Finsbury Park.

No odd workings have appeared on the 153 since the takeover and therefore the route has been 100% electric with Go-Ahead so far, which means that the buses are proving to be reliable. The operation has been decent since the start of the new contract too, with a generally reliable service apart from few hitches in the first week and in particular on the day one where the whole service just collapsed by the evening, although nothing on that scale has occurred afterwards, with only the occasional gap or bunching which is to be expected as Go-Ahead develop their knowledge of the 153. A rather random feature of the new blinds ordered by Go-Ahead is the separation of the word station from Finsbury Park, so the destination display is no longer linear and instead the interchange is treated as a suffix, which seems a bit pointless but if it does improve clarity then that's surely a good thing.

I wish Go-Ahead the best for the next few years in running the 153 and hopefully they can maintain what seems to be a positive start for this fascinating inner London route.

Thanks for reading and stay safe!

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!