Arriva The Shires have operated TfL routes for a while and even though in more recent times their red bus services were officially known as under Arriva London, they were still run from Garston (GR) garage, which is even further North than Watford, the current boundary for where TfL buses operate. However, after losing the two closest routes to the depot to London Sovereign (flagship 142 and 258), then the 268, 631, H2 and H3 to Metroline, the future did look uncertain. The final blow was where upon tender, every single service apart from the 340 was lost to London Sovereign, which almost confirmed the garage was doomed. Even though they had quite a substantial profile not too long ago, the high dead mileage costs couldn't have been feasible and especially in the last few months the quality of buses and service had deteriorated significantly. A popular farewell event took place on Saturday 25th August 2018, which saw lots of vintage buses operating around the area, whilst the garage itself closed exactly seven days later, during the early hours of September 1st. This post covers the large number of routes which assumed RATP operation on this day, as well as the smaller change to the 340, whilst the heavily delayed Hampstead routes will have their publication next week.
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| Hybrid buses can now operate on the 340. |
Since keeping a garage open for a solitary route was understandably deemed unsustainable, the 340 was forced to find a new home within the company, although this happened a couple of months before Garston closed. Rather awkwardly, this has become Palmers Green (AD) garage, which is even further from the termini than Garston (GR) once was, leading to some pretty nasty dead runs. The allocation of ten Wrightbus Streetdeck double deckers did transfer with the route and have been re-blinded, appearing on routes 102, 141 and 329 since this was achieved. In a similar fashion, it was not too long before vehicles already at Palmers Green started to appear on the 340, with ADL Enviro 400s from the 102 and 329 as well as Wrightbus Gemini 2 B5LH vehicles allocated to the 141. Both types can be found on an almost daily basis alongside the Streetdecks, with the hybrids taking a particular liking to Sunday duties. Interestingly, despite the route being very urban in nature, no hybrid vehicles had operated the route before the transfer and whilst older ALX400s and Gemini 1s appearing the route is sadly no longer possible, some more modern variety is arguably better than none at all. Whether Arriva will retain the route upon tender with its inconveniently placed garage is hard to say, especially as London Sovereign and Metroline have depots along the line of route, although for now the route continues to be operated well and hopefully it remains this way at its new home.
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| This type is now extinct in London. |
Right until the very end of the contract, Garston (GR) employed an eclectic mix of generally older vehicles on its routes, with two types becoming extinct after the changes and a third being endangered as we speak. The allocation was also pretty much common user, especially after the Hampstead routes left, with double deckers appearing on single deck services and even vice versa from time to time, which was very inconvenient if you happened to intercept one of those trips. Chronologically, the first route Arriva surrendered was the short 288, running between Queensbury Morrisons and the Broadfields Estate. In order to serve the latter destination buses complete a loop around the housing area, before serving Edgware as the intermediate destination. After a double run into Edgware Bus Station, it takes a direct route via back roads to Queensbury, with a typical end-to-end journey time of around 30 minutes - the 288 is only four miles in length. A peak vehicle requirement for seven vehicles satisfy the intensive Monday-Saturday frequency of every 10 minutes - this drops to 4bph on Sundays and every 20 minutes during the evening.
The 288 seemed to run pretty well under Arriva, with the relatively trouble-free routeing resulting in a generally reliable service despite the tight timetable. Until the very end, this route took a preference to the last batch of Wrightbus Cadet vehicles in London and whilst they were very problematic and slightly worse for wear, these DWL-class buses soldiered on to form the last ever service operated from Garston, which was inevitably filled with enthusiasts. These buses certainly gave the 288 some character and it was under the old that I rode the route from end-to-end ; after that farewell ride I certainly will miss the Cadets in London - even though on some of them the bus would start shaking when exceeding 20mph they were still quite fast. As a route the 288 isn't bad, with wide roads throughout and down-to-earth houses dominating the external surroundings, although there is an urban interlude in Edgware, with the short end-to-end journey time preventing any overriding sense of boredom. It will not, however, be the same without these old buses, or indeed the occasional double decker strays which Arriva provided. One B7TL ALX400 was out on the very last day, but other than that it was fully Cadet.
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| The temporary allocation at Edgware Bus Station, complete with a spelling error... |
Chaotic is certainly an appropriate word to describe the initial takeover from Arriva, due to a number of reasons. London Sovereign were planning to open a brand new outstation in preparation for the extra volume of work, located at Parr Road in Canons Park, although due to ground contamination this wasn't going to be ready for September 1st, which meant that some of the buses were temporarily being based at a site in North Wembley owned by Brent Council. It seems that Canons Park (CP) garage is open now, with four out of the seven buses coming from this outstation whilst the other three are actually from Edgware (BT). A second problem was the absence of a large pool of brand new ADL Enviro 200 MMCs the company ordered for routes 288, 303, H18 and H19, with maybe one or two at most being in service on the first day. A few slightly older examples of this type were loaned from Fulwell (FW) and Tolworth (TV) garages, having already been at London Sovereign a few weeks prior to the change for driver training purposes, although the majority of the 288s current allocation is only a little younger than the Cadets which previously ran the route. Conveniently, a decent number of 07-reg "classic" Enviro 200s had been made redundant at Tolworth (TV) garage following the introduction of new buses on the K2, so these were swiftly transferred up North and are still in use on the 288 and 303, with a couple also straying onto the 251 which is based at the outstation too. It is hard to tell when the rest of the new buses will trickle into service, but with a short-term solution at least the operator won't be under too much pressure.
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| One of the newer MMCs is seen in Broadfields Estate, with the correct spelling this time! |
Saturday 1st September 2018 was the first day of London Sovereign operation and it produced a 50/50 split of new E200 MMCs and the loaned classic models. At least one of the newer vehicles was banditised, hinting that they were rushed into service. Existing buses found at Edgware (BT) garage have also appeared in the past couple of weeks, but this operator do seem far more strict regarding double deckers. The service had its ups and downs on the first day, but it was tolerable and by now it seems London Sovereign have got the hang of operating the route well. Regular passengers, particularly those in Broadfields Estate, did notice the new buses and the rubbery smell on the MMCs, with most commending the immaculate interior, but the stop-start technology was predictably unpopular. Despite this hardly being a smooth introduction, I only have one bone to pick at London Sovereign regarding vehicle presentation and it isn't even the lack of blinds on one of the new buses, but rather a discrepancy regarding the destination. The newer vehicles informatively display the
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| Banditised... |
correct terminus points of "Broadfields Estate" and "Queensbury Morrisons", although the older classic vehicles simply display plain old "Queensbury", although this is too ambiguous for my liking as the bus doesn't serve the area surrounding Queensbury Circle at all. The biggest issue though is that on the loaned buses the front destination is misspelled, proclaiming that the terminus is "Broadfield Estate", whilst the side blind says "288 via Broadfields", which is self-contradictory as a bus route cannot have its terminus as an intermediate destination! I understand that this was a last-minute affair, but surely spending 30 seconds looking at the route on a map or even the perfectly valid displays of the incumbent operator would've been better than the sloppy look at the moment. Appearances aside, however, it seems that the 288 should be in safe hands for the future, with the more conveniently placed garage(s) surely being an advantage for London Sovereign, even if their new allocation will always be viewed as inferior to the old by enthusiasts.
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| Credit to Transport For London and their production of this map. |
If the 288 was confusing enough for you, I'd advise taking a break before tackling the 303 and 305. As well as changing operator, these last two services were merged into one route on Saturday 1st September (with the former number remaining for the new service), complete with two diversions and a temporary timetable. The 305 was a very quiet bus route and was largely duplicated by more substantial services like the 302, whilst the equally short 303 which conveniently ran in the vicinity could have some tweaking in order to pick up the exclusive stretches. The map probably explains the changes in routeing much better than I ever could, but essentially the 303 would only run along the half of Deansbrook Road it served on its own, before diverting down Deans Lane (ex-305 territory) and regaining the line of route at Mill Hill Broadway. After Colindale Superstores, pending the completion of a new link road, the 303 would be extended along Princes Avenue to Kingsbury Circle, the old 305 terminus. It's a pretty cunning way of saving money, with no roads actually being deprived of a bus service, but a fair few links being broken in the process. However, the 305 wasn't very popular in its days of existence and I would much rather routes like this received the chop than something as ridiculous as the 48. Originally, the 125 was said to be receiving an extension to Colindale on September 1st, but this has been postponed for whatever reason.
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| Arriva The Shires ENL105 is seen at Edgware on the old 303. |
Under Arriva The Shires, the 303 ran only between Edgware and Colindale Superstores, although the key intermediate points of Mill Hill Broadway and Grahame Park remain the same. The route was fairly popular for local journeys and towards the end of the contract it was customary to have two or three double deck vehicles on the route each day, quite often including Volvo/B7TL ALX400s and the last remaining VLW-class Wrightbus B7TL Gemini in London. On the single deck front, newer 11-reg ex-Stagecoach "classic" E200s took a liking to the 303 instead of the older models, although even the Cadets and Pointers did appear pretty regularly. Since the changes, the route is now seven miles in length and takes around 40 minutes from end-to-end, soaking up eight vehicles for the quarter-hourly Monday to Saturday frequency, with drops to 3bph on Sundays and 2bph during the evening. Even though my completion would be invalid the next day, I felt obliged to sample the service with a double decker as this potentially wouldn't be possible under the new contract and I was fortunate enough to receive a powerful Volvo/B7TL ALX400 for this. Although the reliability was pretty shoddy on the last day of Arriva, I really enjoyed my journey and observing areas such as Field Mead, the RAF Museum and Deansbrook Road were my three highlights. Funnily enough, the last ever VLW-class bus worked its last journey in service on the 303, which means this fairly insignificant back street route now has historical significance too!
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| Arriva London PDL152 is seen on the dead route 305. |
If you thought the 288 and 303 were short enough, this cute little route took no more than 23 minutes from end-to-end, which meant a peak vehicle requirement of four buses could satisfy the 15 minute Monday-Saturday frequency, which was inevtiably halved during the evening and on Sundays. Its termination points were Kingsbury Circle and Edgware, going via Princes Avenue, Burnt Oak and Deans Lane in the process, with the majority of the middle section being shared with the 302 to Mill Hill Broadway. As this route was never busy, double deckers were much rarer, although they did still appear alongside a wide mix of single deckers. The two ADL Dart Pointers at the garage did seem to take a liking to the 305, but typically the other vehicles were anything from Cadets to the ex-Stagecoach E200s. On its last ever day of operation, Friday 31st August 2018, only three buses were actually in service, portraying a sense of premature abandonment, although my very brief end-to-end ride on a Wrightbus Cadet was saddening enough, given that the route wouldn't be operating in less than eight hours time. It'll be interesting to see if the number pops up again on a London route in the distant future, but for now there is no such thing as a 305 in TfL land.
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| A loaned DE is seen at Quakers Course. |
In terms of vehicle allocation, the 303 is broadly the same as the 288, except that all the vehicles are based at Parr Road (CP) for the time being. On the first day all bar one of the buses were loaned 07-reg DEs, with the correct displays this time, although one new E200 MMC was knocking around. Since then, a few more have appeared on the route, but the route remains largely "old" for now, with a couple of E200s allocated to the 251 bringing an intermediate level to the vehicle panel. In terms of service, London Sovereign performed surprisingly well considering this combination of roads has never been used on a London bus service before, although its relaxed schedule with a lot of stand time at Edgware Bus Station might've contributed to this. However, the route buses are currently taking isn't even what is shown on the map above - typically the removal of the width restriction on Capitol Way hasn't taken place, so buses are on a rather lengthy diversion via Edgware Road and Hay Lane, missing out Colindale Superstores altogether, which managed to irritate a load of passengers on my journey. A second diversion is currently in operation around Grahame Park, where buses are skipping the housing development area at Corner Mead due to parking issues which prevent the longer new vehicles from serving the street, which means that a lot of homes are isolated from the bus network. This was particularly infuriating on the first day where only one bus out of a PVR for eight vehicles would've actually been affected! A temporary timetable is in operation, with a helpful frequency of every 16 minutes until further notice, making the new service even more baffling and unattractive.
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| The only new vehicle on the 303. |
To make matters worse, TfL were truly horrendous in publicising the changes properly. There wasn't even a scrolling iBus message on 303/305 vehicles warning passengers of the changes in advance, whilst posters on the bus stops were only put up a day before the changes would take place, which is extremely poor notice! On the first day, none of the bus stop flags had been updated, which meant that along the entireity of the old 305 routeing a non-existent service was being advertised, whilst passengers travelling to Edgware on Deans Lane would've been waiting on the wrong side of the road. Secondly, during the week following the changes, TfL Bus Alerts were still proudly proclaiming that the 305 was available for passenger use, even though the route had been dead for a few days. This grossly unacceptable so-called preparation resulted in some completely baffled members of the public, with most having a fairly lengthy conversation with the driver regarding where the new route would take them, with a surprisingly high number of unsuccessful journey's. We can only hope that these road layout changes are sorted out promptly, as the wonderful start London Sovereign have produced has been completely overshadowed by TfL's incompetence to inform the general public that their bus services would be changing. With all this confusion and mistrust, no wonder bus ridership is falling...
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| VLA116 was one of the older double deckers in regular use until the end of the contract. |
Circular routes are pretty hard to find in London, but surprisingly Harrow Town Centre boasts two sets. The H18 and H19 run clockwise and anti-clockwise circuits respectively, serving the areas of North Harrow, Headstone Lane, Harrow Weald, Belmont Circle and Kenton in the process. Both routes run every 20 minutes from Monday to Saturday, with the evening/Sunday frequency dropping to every 30 minutes and the maximum number of buses required at any time is eight vehicles, with these being shared between the two services. The 8 mile circuit takes around 50 minutes to complete, although when I sampled the route the bus managed to achieve an end-to-end journey in 42. I decided to sample the H18 under the old because of the presence of double deck vehicles, which made the journey all the more satisfying. VLA116 was a very fast bus and the driver floored it throughout my trip through the more affluent parts of Harrow - whilst being predominantly residential the H18 offered frequent green spaces and shopping parades to complement the pretty housing, making it a very decent route and it is a shame that viewing these lovely areas is no longer possible from the top deck. Reliability was pretty decent under Garston (GR) operation, whilst the allocation was probably the most varied out of any route based at the garage towards the end of the contract. There was at least one Volvo/B7TL ALX400 every day, along with a selection of native Arriva and ex-Stagecoach E200s, although older Cadets and Dart Pointers did fill in occasionally. It was no surprise that London Sovereign were able to pick up these routes too, as their Harrow (SO) garage is conveniently placed on the circuit.
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| A "classic" E200 is seen at Harrow Town Centre. |
Although the H18/H19 are based at a different garage to the 288 and 303, their allocation of new buses would be of the exact same type and there were punctuality issues with this batch too. Only one Enviro 200 MMC actually went into service on the first day, banditised too and this disappeared by midday. The rest of the vehicles were existing "classic" Enviro 200s already based at Harrow (SO) garage, with most of these coming from the H14 which conveniently converted to double deck
operation on the same day. Bar the solitary new bus, vehicle presentation wasn't too bad on the first day, although
for some odd reason the quality of blindwork deteriorated rapidly afterwards, with almost the entire allocation having paper blinds on some days. A couple more fully blinded new ADL Enviro 200 MMCs managed to make it out within a few days, although progress has still been slow and there's still probably one bus running around with paper displays today. The reliability has been decent though, which is perhaps understandable considering London Sovereign are already quite familiar with the Harrow area, which the H18/H19 never leave. I do hope that the locals are happy with their slightly newer buses, even if I view this change as a downgrade as there are no more double deckers!
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| One of the newer buses on the H19 is pursued by a 183. |
In conclusion, the introduction of London Sovereign to various routes in North-West London hasn't been particularly smooth. Although the eclectic allocation system at Garston (GR) may have appeared unorganised at the time, the incorrect destination displays and presence of banditry make Arriva look like perfectionists! TfL were even worse with their lack of information regarding the 303/305 changes - what could've been a fairly decent saving has become a mess thanks to the confusion and arguably unnecessary diversions in place. On the plus side, in due course there will be a full complement of new buses for regular users to look forward to and London Sovereign have been doing very well in regards to service provision, but when taking on such a large volume of work there were bound to be a few hiccups. I wish this operator the very best for the next few years, although even with a brand new garage making its mark, the absence of Garston (GR) will be very difficult to fill, being a garage like no other.
Thanks for reading and stay safe!
