Stagecoach London's Fleet

Stagecoach London is a division of the Stagecoach group operating London operations. They have a pretty varied fleet, mainly made up of ADL vehicles but also do have buses from other Manufactures lying around such as Optare, Wrightbus and Scania around the place.

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Stagecoach often ordered ADL built vehicles, many of them took form of an ALX400 vehicle on a Trident Chassis. The Tridents were ordered for many routes, and almost all of the Double Deck routes in the Stagecoach fleet would have had a Trident on them at one point. Early Tridents were delivered with a different colour scheme to what they all carry today, they carried a grey moquette with red stripes (this interior is still found on 17001 today). In this picture we can see the current internal livery carried by most Stagecoach London Tridents. The Tridents ordered by Stagecoach came primarily with Voith gearboxes, with only about 84 ZFs delivered new. There have also been over 50 ZF retrofits, 30 outside London.

Like all vehicles the ALX400 eventually stopped production and there came a replacement, this was the Brand new Enviro400. Stagecoach got the first one built, a 10.8m Euro3 model called Spirit of London and numbered 18500, later 19000. This was to replace Trident 17758 which was destroyed in the 7th of July 2005 bombings. Their first full order came for 10 10.8m Euro4s for newly won route 61 which was due to operate from Bromley (TB) garage. But despite Stagecoach placing the order for the vehicles, they would not be the ones to take delivery of the vehicles. That was to be done by the Macquarie Bank, to whom Stagecoach had sold their operations to. But nonetheless Stagecoach made a triumphant return in 2010, and the Enviro400s were still there.

The ELBG didn't order much Enviro400s, but we'll get onto that later. But when Stagecoach returned they brought their ordering style back with them. Many routes were retained and Stagecoach brought Enviro400s for them. This was among Stagecoach's first order since their return to London and many people were looking forward to them. These batch of buses also had brand new Smartblinds installed on them, compared to the Manual blinds of the 61s batch and were Euro5, 10.1m models. Above 19860 can be seen on the 238.

Stagecoach didn't order much Enviro400 Diesels post 63reg, mainly because after that TFL wanted much more hybrids on London buses. Although there is a sole 14reg Enviro400 Diesel bus around, this is kept at TL as a bus used for the 136s extension to Elephant and Castle. This is one of about six Euro6 Enviro400s in London as of now (20/07/14).





Stagecoach also have quite a few Enviro400 Hybrids in their fleet, some being 61reg and others being 14reg. The 61reg buses had a different interior to the average Stagecoach interior. These had yellow handles and green seats. This was the interior used on all outer London hybrids and Stagecoach carried it in with the London ones. This batch was kept at Bow (BW) for route 15, which received the Hybrids mid-contract. Stagecoach didn't order much hybrids after this during 2012 and 2013. Although the next batch was due in 2014, for routes 54, 75, 122, 205 and 472. These buses contained the average Stagecoach London interior as Hybrids were going to become a common sight in London and there was no point differentiating between the two bus types.

The newer Enviro400 Hybrids contained other noticeable differences to the 61reg buses except for the interior. They only contained one tree deflector as opposed to the two that is usually found among London buses. They also had Start-Stop technology. This is when the bus automatically switches its engine off when it is waiting at traffic lights or bus stops and this saves energy. These buses are also the first Euro6 engined Enviro400 Hybrids in London.

Stagecoach also has some Wright Eclipse Gemini 3/B5LH buses in the fleet. These are kept at Plumstead (PD) garage for routes 53 and 122. These are the first production Gemini 3/B5LH buses in London, originally destined for the 54 and 75 they were diverted to the 53 and 122.

The buses like the latter E40Hs contain the average blue Stagecoach interior, and are Stagecoach's first Wrightbus built vehicles since the mid 1990s. It came as a surprise to many enthusiasts when it was announced that Stagecoach were going to order Geminis as nobody had expected it. It came as an even bigger surprise when later it was found out to be the Gemini 3 type and not the Gemini 2 type. 

The buses contain a rear which has a lot of non-red parts. This is unique to London as there is a rule which states buses have to be red as far as possible. Some design features have been inspired by the New Routemaster, such as the window near the stairs and the glossy rear. This has been a very controversial bus for enthusiasts.

Stagecoach London also have a few New Routemasters, kept at Bow (BW) for route 8 which was awarded with these type of vehicles upon the new contract.

These are practically identical to every other New Routemaster batch that preceded it with different operators, as Stagecoach didn't have any authority to change any of the spec as the buses were owned by TFL and leased to the operators.

While the company was operated by the Australian Marquarie Bank. There were a lot of Scanias ordered. Then when Stagecoach re-acquired the business in 2010. The Scanias went with them. 

The Scanias contained interiors which were designed by the ELBG. Although upon refurbishment these are being replaced with the Stagecoach interior. The Scanias can be found at Leyton (T), Rainham (RM), Bow (BW), West Ham (WH) and Plumstead (PD). The Scanias range from 58reg to 10reg, and can be found in both Euro4 and Euro5 versions. The Scanias are well known for not having enough padding, although during refurbishment they seem to have been sorted out. When the first batch arrived back in 2008 for newly won Route 248, they were late and entered service without any logos. When Stagecoach returned to London, the Scanias were among the first buses to receive Stagecoach Logos.

Stagecoach London have quite a few of the Single Decker variant of the Enviro400, which is the Enviro200. This model was ordered both in the ELBG era, and the latter Stagecoach era. Although the ones ordered by the ELBG were with an Allison gearbox while the ones ordered by Stagecoach came with a Voith Gearbox. The ones ordered by the ELBG also contained their interior, whereas the ones ordered by Stagecoach contained the Stagecoach interior. 

Enviro200s are not the only bus type that Stagecoach London have. In 2012 route 227 was retained, and that route specified 12 meter buses. The Enviro200 was not available in that sort of length, so Stagecoach decided to order 13 Mercedes Benz Citaros. These buses however are not open boarding like the ones on route 507 and 521. They contain a large wheelchair area due to the fact the route is heavily used by buggies during its journey, and in order to prevent any overcrowding and conflicts between buggy and wheelchair users, the extra space was specified. The 227 can't take double deck buses due to a low bridge at Shortlands. It is pretty rare to see operators using a full size Single Decker bus these days. These buses are well known for their speed and can easily classify as the fastest buses in London.

Stagecoach London also have a fleet of Plaxton Pointer-bodied Dennis Darts, these are all found south of the river, although one did temporarily go to Barking (BK) earlier this year for a short while. The darts can be found at all of Selkent's garages, ranging from minibus lengths to midibus lengths. Bromley (TB) even had 11.3m ones at one stage for Route 227.

They once used to be found in most Stagecoach garages, although these days many are used for logistical spares, and only a handful of routes actually operate with these vehicles as a proper allocation. Route P4 being one of them. There were also some older Alexander ALX200-bodied Darts that mixed with the Pointers frequently, although when they were withdrawn, the Pointers remained in the fleet.

Earlier I mentioned that one Pointer had been to Barking (BK) earlier this year. That was 34372 which was a short bus with only one door. It was very weird seeing it at Barking considering all the Single Deckers in the garage were dual doored buses. It was to be allocated to route 396. So when one went onto the 62 I couldn't resist a picture of such a rare working and I have to include it in this post.

While the ELBG was still around they ordered 14 Optare Versas for routes 469 and 396. Route 469 was based at Plumstead (PD) and route 396 was based at Barking (BK). But upon Stagecoach's return they wanted to move all the Optare Versas to one garage, as they were really unreliable and it wasn't easy keeping two small batches separate. So the Versas from Plumstead (PD) went to Barking (BK) for route 62, and the 62s brand new Enviro200s went the other way in return. The Versas in my opinion have to be the worst buses in the whole Stagecoach London fleet. They are often pretty dirty and often have something wrong with them. Some Versas have been given a refurbishment for the new 396 contract which commenced in 2014, and the refurbished buses received a Stagecoach makeover as well as a brand new set of White on Black Blinds.

Although Versas are not the only Optare product that Stagecoach London have. Catford Garage (TL) also have some Optare Tempo hybrids for route 178. Originally the buses started life at West Ham (WH) for route 276. When route 276 was lost to Go Ahead London, the buses went south of the River for route 380. This came as a surprise as the 380 didn't pass many traffic hotspots. About a year later the buses settled on a more logical home in the form of route 178.

What do you think of Stagecoach London's fleet? Do you find it pretty boring, or rather interesting? Please let us know in the comments section.

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