Welcome to the first edition of The Monthly Recap brought to you by The Team at The London Bus Blog. This is a new monthly series that will highlight all the news from the London bus scene over the past month. It is due at the end of each month.

Now sit back and enjoy!

Abellio London

8520, YX59BYN on route 201
©Unorm001

The operations of route 201 (Herne Hill - Morden) duly passed to Abellio from Go-Ahead London: London General on the 4th of October. It's currently operating with Alexander Dennis Enviro200's from routes 152, 407 and T33 until its own Alexander Dennis 200's arrive, more on that later. Older Alexander ALX400's have been deployed on routes 152 and 407 until the 201's buses arrive.

The loan of the 100's buses to Go-Ahead London: London General is set to continue for another month or so.

Route 415 (Elephant & Castle - Tulse Hill), which is due to join Abellio in March, is to be extended upon arrival. It will be extended to Old Kent Road Tesco via route 168 upon the new contract.

Arriva London

A loss, a retain, a conversion, an extension, and a garage shuffle all to be reported for Arriva: 

Route 135 (Crossharbour - Old Street) was lost to Go-Ahead London: Docklands Buses. It's not yet been announced where the current buses on the 135 will go when the route is lost.

Route 253 was retained with double-decker buses, the type yet to be confirmed. 

Soon to be a thing of the past.

Routes 137 (Oxford Circus - Streatham Hill, Telford Avenue) is to be converted to New Routemaster operation from 22nd November. It is not yet confirmed if the night division (N137: Crystal Palace - Oxford Circus) will convert too.

Route N133 is to be extended from Mitcham to Morden, the date has not yet been confirmed.

Route 312's (Norwood Junction - West Croydon) Optare MetroCity EV (Electric Vehicles) are still due to arrive at South Croydon (TC) garage. They are coded EMC1 and EMC2. A charging pod has been put in place at the garage, according to our sources. 

A garage shuffle is planned in the north for routes 141, 318, 329 and W6 on the 8th of November. And route on the 11th of November:

Route 141 will transfer to Palmers Green (AD) from Wood Green (WN) however, some of its buses will remain at Palmers Green (AD) due to lack of space.

Route 184 will have its buses moved from Edmonton (EC) to Wood Green (WN).

Route 318 will transfer to Enfield (E) from Tottenham (AR).

Route 329 will have its buses that were stored at Wood Green (WN) moved back to Palmers Green (AD).

Route W6 will transfer to Enfield (E) from Tottenham (AR).

Go-Ahead London

A pretty quiet month for London's biggest operator. Let's have a look:

Route 135 (Crossharbour - Old Street) was gained from Arriva London. It will begin operation with Docklands Buses on 23rd May 2015 with 15 brand new battery-hybrid double-decker buses.

Route 100's Alexander Dennis Enviro200 flywheel-hybrid single-decker buses have yet to arrive. They aren't expected for another month or so.

Arriva London's 8.9m Alexander Dennis Enviro200 buses that are currently being used on the 192 will be loaned to London General when the route transfers next month. This is because of the Alexander Dennis Enviro200 flywheel-hybrid single-decker buses ordered for the route have yet to arrive. They aren't expected until early 2015.

Routes 44 (Tooting Station - Victoria) and route 185 (Lewisham - Victoria) have both received Monday to Friday peak frequency increases. They will both be increased to every 8 minutes from tomorrow. 

Route 436 (Lewisham Shopping Centre - Paddington) will have a PVR decrease of 1 reducing to the PVR to 32. The Monday to Friday peak frequency decreases to every 6 minutes from tomorrow.

LOTS TLB has said route 432, which will transfer in May 2015, will now operate under London Central from Camberwell garage with existing WHVs. Where the WHVs will come from is not yet known, it could come from routes 12, 19 or 22. We'll keep you updated.

LT277, LTZ1277 in Ballymena before delivery
©Donrobni

Route 453's New Routemaster conversion is moving slower than we all expected. The highest number of LTs in service was 7, with only 2 usually found on the route. The conversion is now expected to be complete by the end of November.

Metroline

Routes 245, 460, A10 and U1 were all retained by Metroline this month.

The 245 and 460 have been retained with new or existing double-deckers, no change to either PVR. The new contract starts on the 27th of June 2015.

The 331 and U10 have been retained with new flyhweel-hybrid single-decker buses, no change to either PVR. The new contract for the 331 starts on the 4th of July 2015 and the U10 starts on the 2nd of May 2015.

VWH2024, LK64EDC at the CELF
©Anthony Or

The delivery of the new VWHs has begun for Potters Bar route 82 (North Finchley - Victoria). They are numbered 2024-2045 and were originally bought for the 34, which transfers from Arriva London on the 8th next month. The 34 will use TE1420-1441 instead.

DEL2070, LK64ECY on route 112
©LondonBuses72

And the news we've all been waiting for! The DELs for the 112 have finally entered service! DEL2062-2071 began to enter service at Cricklewood last week. They are registered LK64ECE/F/J/N/T/V/W/X/Y/Z. 







Stagecoach

36584, YY64GRK on route 273 on its first day.
©GloriousWater

The final hybrid entries and new diesels this month for Stagecoach.

The last hybrids of a mass order from Stagecoach have started to enter service at Plumstead (PD). The 30 strong batch of Alexander Dennis Enviro400 hybrids, numbered 12334-12363, are gradually entering service on routes 51, 53, 122, 177 and 472. They are intended for the 99, 122 and 472. They are registered 12334-12350, SN64OGG/H/J/K/L/M/N/O/P/R/S/T/U/V/W/X/Y/Z and 12351-12363, SN64OHA/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/J/K/L/O/P.

12 new diesel buses are due to enter service this month at Catford (TL). 4 of the 12 buses are 8.9m Alexander Dennis Enviro200 single-decker buses for routes 124 and 354, numbered and registered as so, 36584-36587, YY64GRK/U/X/Z. The final 8 buses are 10.2m Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double-decker buses for route 136's PVR increase back in May when it was extended to Elephant & Castle. They are numbered 10198-10205, the registrations are not yet known. The older Tridents that were covering will be withdrawn upon arrival of the new buses.

New Routemasters, LT312 and LT313 for the 55, have been delivered to Stagecoach Dundee. They will be trialed on the Tayway service between Dundee and Arbroath until the end of the year before returning to London for the 55 (Oxford Circus - Leyton, Baker Arms). LT314, LT315 and LT316 shall also be in London shortly for the 55 but aren't expected to enter service.

Tower Transit

Tower Transit's orders are out for their recently won routes. Still no news on their proposed Enfield garage.

33 new buses are on order for routes 212, 444 and 488. 

11 - 10.8m Alexander Dennis Enviro200 flywheel-hybrids for route 488 

11 - 10.8m Wright StreetLite DF for route 444
11- 10.5m Volvo B5LH/Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 for route 212.

At the moment, they're all expected to operate from Lea Interchange garage - unless the proposed Picketts Lock garage is accepted by Enfield council and built in time.

6 ex-Stagecoach Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400 double-decker buses are on loan to Tower Transit from Ensignbus until March 2015. They will be used on routes 28, 31 and 328 whilst essential roadworks are completed on Great Western Road, Westbourne Park.

The 6 buses:

LX04FXJ 33200
LX04FXL 33201
LX04FXP 33202
LX04FXV 33203
LX04FXW 33204
LX04FYB 33205

What to Expect Next Month

More news on the Alexander Dennis orders, Arriva's MetroCity's, New Routemaster conversions, Go-Ahead London's fleet shuffle and Wright's new Gemini design.

A big thank you to our photo contributors; you can view their wonderful Flickr Photostreams below:

Anthony Or - https://www.flickr.com/photos/b777-200_g-ymmh/
Donrobni - https://www.flickr.com/photos/81709772@N07/
Unorm001 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/122132542@N02/favorites/

All photographs found on this blog are subject to copyright, images shall not be copied or printed without the written permission of the original photographer or authors of The London Bus Blog. Under all circumstances, copyright remains with the original photographers and people found to re-use without permission are breaking the law and are eligible for legal action taken against them and possible prosecution under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. Thank you.

Thank you for reading this month's recap, please come again!

 ©EastLondoner 2014

Stratford Bus Station is home to a variety of different routes, one of those routes is the 238. It is operated from the United Kingdom's largest and greenest bus garage, West Ham (WH). The route is allocated with Euro 5 engine, Voith Enviro400/E40D buses. 

The route starts off at Barking, Station Parade then proceeds around the corner onto London Road, then it continues along past the North Circular Road onto Barking Road. Once it reaches Newham Town Hall the route takes a sharp left turn onto High Street North and it continues past East Ham Station onto Plashet Grove. From there it continues onto Plashet Road which turns into Portway. From Portway it turns onto West Ham Lane then onto Stratford High Street. From there it goes to Stratford Bus Station.

The route has had a pretty long history, it started off in 1959 running between Becontree and the Woolwich Ferry via Barking and Canning Town, very soon in 1961 it was diverted to start at Little Heath instead of Becontree. Then further change came in 1965 when it was diverted to Serve Stratford via West Ham Lane. (Like the current routing today.) 

©EastLondoner 2014

Then in 1966 the route was extended from Little Heath to Chadwell Heath Hospital and converted to Single Deck operation. In 1991 the route was cut back from Chadwell Heath and Little Heath and started to run only between Stratford Bus Station and Barking Bus Garage. In 2000 the route was withdrawn between Barking Bus Garage and Barking Station. Leaving the routeing how it is today. In 2003 the route was converted to Low Floor Double Deck operation with Dennis Tridents, and this was converted to Enviro400/E40D Double Deckers in 2012.

©EastLondoner 2014

Until 2011, this route was operated out of the second largest garage in East London at Upton Park (U) found just off Green Street. But due to West Ham being so large and more than half empty, it was economical to close down U and send its routes to WH and BK. The 238, like many routes moved to West Ham (WH), changeovers take place at Stratford Bus Station with drivers going via the 69

© GloriousWater 2014

The 238 doesn't have much going for unallocated workings, the most common is a Dennis Trident which happens every day. Although something which is really rare on the route is a Scania Omnicity. These have only been blinded for the 238 since March, and only two duties have managed to stay out on the route for the whole day. Jack managed to catch up with one doing the 238U which operates when the District Line is closed.

So what do you think about the route? Do you want to ride it? Or would you prefer to stay away from it? Please let us know your thoughts and views on this route by posting a comment below. 

Thank you for reading this post, Please visit again soon :)

Stagecoach-operated route 472, operated from Plumstead (PD), is finally converting to hybrid operation after a long delay.

© GloriousWater 2014

Last year it was announced that the 472's contract had been retained by Stagecoach with new hybrid buses due in January/February 2014. But as most enthusiasts know by now, Stagecoach had a massive shuffle of the hybrids so other routes got shiny new Enviro400s and Gemini 3s while the 472 kept running with the old Tridents, some of which were among the oldest in the Stagecoach fleet.

So here are some pictures of the old stuff on the 472.

17427, which is among several Tridents since transferred to TL for the 136 extension.

©GloriousWater 2014

©GloriousWater 2014

A common working was (and still is) an 11-reg E400 diesel, such as 19748 seen here picking up in Thamesmead.

©GloriousWater 2014

The new hybrids started to arrive near the end of September, but took a really long time to actually go on the 472 in any large amount. They are shared with the 122, and are pretty much the same as the batch delivered to TL in March. The conversion is still ongoing, so diesel buses remain common on the route.

Brand new 12342 in Thamesmead.

©GloriousWater 2014

Similar 14-reg hybrids delivered in May for the 122 also appear on the route (more often than the intended 64-reg in fact) as shown here by 12302.

©GloriousWater 2014

So overall, a very quiet conversion. Now there's just time for the fleetlist. Vehicles in italics are not yet in service at the time of writing.

Route 472 fleetlist:
12334 - SN64OGG
12335 - SN64OGH
12336 - SN64OGJ
12337 - SN64OGK
12338 - SN64OGL
12339 - SN64OGM
12340 - SN64OGO
12341 - SN64OGP
12342 - SN64OGR
12343 - SN64OGS
12344 - SN64OGT
12345 - SN64OGU
12346 - SN64OGV
12347 - SN64OGW
12348 - SN64OGX
12349 - SN64OGY
12350 - SN64OGZ
12351 - SN64OHA
12352 - SN64OHB
12353 - SN64OHC
12354 - SN64OHD
12355 - SN64OHE
12356 - SN64OHF
12357 - SN64OHG
12358 - SN64OHH
12359 - SN64OHJ
12360 - SN64OHK
12361 - SN64OHL
12362 - SN64OHO
12363 - SN64OHP

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