Route 390 Observations (NB4L)

Route 390 is another one of the Central London routes to get New Bus For London. This route which runs between the 'arty farty' Notting Hill via Oxford Street and King's Cross to the multicultural Archway. The route was converted 11 days ago (at the time of writing this, at 18:22, 18th of December) on the 7th of December, postponed from the 30th of November. Route 390 is a relatively new route in London, replacing the withdrawn section of Route 10 between King's Cross and Archway. The original buses used were spare RML's, though in 2004, the route got some of the noisy Volvo B7TL's bodied with Plaxton President bodywork. The vehicles, coded VPL, will transfer to Route 4 which has just been cleared for these robust 10.6m long vehicles. That's all from me, I hope you enjoy reading this post.

Route 11 Observations (NB4L)

On the 21st of September, Route 11 was converted to New Bus For London operation. I, after covering Metrobus 30 with mate Jeevan decided to cover this. I was planning to get a NB4L back to Victoria, however I ended up talking to some mates for ages and had to go home. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

!EXCLUSIVE! 722 on the 405

On the 7th of October, I witnessed 722, a MAN 12.240 bodied MCV Evolution on the 405. Seeing as I have only ever got a Omnicity SD (single decker wise) on the route, I decided to get a picture. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

!EXCLUSIVE! 8434 on the 455

Today, as per usual I checked the handy London Vehicle Finder and whilst on there, checked the 455. I discovered that 8434 was on the route, a Dart allocated to Route 152. So, therefore I decided to go to Croydon to get some pictures. You'll also notice the side blind simply displayed 455 instead of 455 via West Croydon. Thought that was breaching the DDA act! I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Metrobus 30!

On Saturday the 21st of September 2013, Metrobus decided to host some open days to celebrate their 30 anniversary. Therefore, me and my friend Jeevan decided to cover the open days, which were at Croydon in Surrey, Crawley in West Sussex, and Orpington in Kent. Metrobus started out back in 1983 as a small operator running local routes around Orpington, Bromley, Forestdale and Croydon but soon expanded to coaches as well as buses. It wasn't until 1986/7 when they started to pick up LRT contracts. In 1986, Route 61 was awarded to Metrobus using existing double deck buses. Route 261 soon followed in 1987, this route has been run by Metrobus ever since, although this will soon pass to Stagecoach' Bromley garage with new E40D. This will make it the longest running contract with a private operator before privatisation of London's bus services. The 1990's saw many acquisitions and saw the company acquire local coach operators Southland Coaches, RB Coaches and Jason's Coaches. Metrobus has since stopped running coaches, to focus on buses. In 2001, Metrobus purchased Arriva's Crawley operation. In 2003, Metrobus started running services on the Fastway Guided Busway. The company continues to be successful, and has since won an award for best bus depot. I would also like to give a HUGE thanks to all the staff at Metrobus for making the open days brilliant. They were well organized, and it would be good if they held some again in the near future. PS: My Mum, has won a free Metrovoyager ticket on their Facebook page, and I'm hoping that she'll let me come to explore it with her. Latest bus orders for Metrobus: 10 Enviro 200 for the Crawley operation 18 B7RLE/Eclipse Gemini for the Fastway operation. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Route 13 Observations

Back in December 2012, Route 13 was announced retained by Transdev London Sovereign with brand new hybrid buses. Many thought this would be the New Bus For London, but it was quickly ruled out not to be this type. Anyway, London Sovereign later announced they would be buying 23 Volvo B5LH/Gemini 2 buses for Route 13. On Saturday the 10th of August 2013, the new buses entered service, 3 weeks ahead of the contract renewal date on the 31st of August 2013. These new buses are some of the last Gemini 2 buses to enter service in London, with the model being replaced by the Gemini 3 in Winter 2013. These are also the first new buses for London Sovereign in 2 years, the last being the DE's in 2011. I have to say these are some of the smartest buses I've ever seen! I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

2 years!

2 years!!! We've done it, its been brilliant running this blog, and I have had a great time. I plan to introduce a new section which is about the history of Croydon's bus routes. These will be done daily, or if not every 2 days. I have also met many new friends in this who are Josh, Au and Lewis of our sister blog West London Time Masters, and Jeevan of London Buses: On The Go. This blog is also now in partnership with L1/Group, the fictional mammoth operator included in the novel WLTM by my friend Au. So, I hope you like the new posts and, well cheerio for now! I hope to be around with a few more years yet!

Route 425 Observations

Yesterday, Route 425 passed to Tower Transit using brand new Enviro 400 buses from the Lea Interchange depot in Leyton, East London. Route 425 started in 2008 as a replacement for the Route S2, which was created in 1998, and run by Capital Citybus and First. Then in 2008, ahead of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, it was announced that the S2 would be withdrawn and rerouted via a new route 425 fun by Docklands Buses based in Silvertown using the company's only Scania Omnicitys. Then in October 2012 First won the contract, however Tower Transit has since bought First and now run the 425. The Omnicitys will be going off-lease. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

OPL4 on the 463!

Yesterday night I decided to go to the Chinese Takeaway for dinner, and whilst I was waiting for my food to be cooked, I decided to do some bus-spotting. Then this creped up on me! I have been waiting since November for this, and was relived that I had finally got a shot. Next step: riding one! I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

New buses for Arriva

As you may know recently new buses have turned up at TC for route 60. These have now entered service on routes 60 and 466. I have got some pictures. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Route 24 Observations (NB4L)

Back in January 2012, it was announced that the 24 was to gain Borismasters. This was the first route to get them, alongside 8 prototypes on Route 38. Today, the change happened and it was clear from the half an hour my friend Josh waited for one then 3 came along. It was clear there was bunching, but nevertheless, I met up with mates from the West London Time Masters Blog and the fabulous London Buses: on the go blog to cover the new buses. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.