Micros and Circles
In South-East London there is a route known well for quite possibly being the most indirect route in the area, and probably among the most indirect in London. Route 386 which operates between Blackheath Village and Woolwich via Greenwich Town Centre and East Greenwich. As well as taking on this route Go Ahead have also retained the contract to route 44, and introduced a new bus type (well...kind of) to London's streets.
Route 386 has recently (2nd June 2018) completed a move from Stagecoach London to a new home at Go Ahead London at Morden Wharf (MG). During its last contract with Stagecoach it primarily operated out of Plumstead (PD) although during its last few weeks it operated out of Catford (TL) in order to make space at Plumstead for incoming route 161.
The route was introduced in 1991, operating out of Plumstead garage from day one, although the route was quite different to what is in operation today running from Eltham to Greenwich, District Hospital. A substantial change in 1993 saw the route cut back to Plumstead garage and it was extended on the Greenwich end to serve Cutty Sark. In 1994 the route was then withdrawn between Plumstead and Woolwich, creating the eastern terminus of the route that we are still accustomed to today. A rerouting in 2001 saw the route rerouted to run via Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich then it wasn't until 2007 the route saw any more substantial change, the route was extended from Cutty Sark to Blackheath Village. 2010 saw another rerouting in the Woolwich area allowing it to run via Sandy Hill instead of Plumstead Common Road.
Since inception route 386 ran out of Plumstead garage, and it had been allocated the running numbers of PD71+ ever since its first day of operation making this the first time the route has changed operator, although strictly not the first time it's moved garage as following the 161 win the route moved to Catford for its last few weeks. It's last contract with Stagecoach saw the route allocated with 58 plated Alexander Dennis Enviro200s along with one 13 plated Enviro200 (36555, which will now make its way to Romford for the uptake of route 193 in the Autumn).
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| A trip down memory lane, 36337 stands next to a 188 © EastLondoner |
Since inception route 386 ran out of Plumstead garage, and it had been allocated the running numbers of PD71+ ever since its first day of operation making this the first time the route has changed operator, although strictly not the first time it's moved garage as following the 161 win the route moved to Catford for its last few weeks. It's last contract with Stagecoach saw the route allocated with 58 plated Alexander Dennis Enviro200s along with one 13 plated Enviro200 (36555, which will now make its way to Romford for the uptake of route 193 in the Autumn).
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| 36327 is seen on stand at Blackheath © EastLondoner |
Go Ahead are also using Alexander Dennis Enviro200 buses, adding this route to the growing list of routes having existing Enviro200s replaced by another batch of Enviro200s. These Enviro200s have made their way south after previously being allocated to route 299 at Northumberland Park (NP) which was lost to Sullivan Buses earlier this year.
I'll be honest, I was not going to ride the 386 end to end on its first day. I initially made my way to Woolwich to try to get a picture of the route there. Luckily I didn't have to wait long for SEN16 to turn up heading towards Blackheath. I then hopped onto a 53 and then a 108 in order to get to the other end of the route and saving myself a lot of time. Upon arrival at Blackheath SE152 was just arriving on stand after its journey from Woolwich. After an 8 minute wait it wasn't long until we were off, I was taking a short hop to Greenwich Town Centre, just to get a feel for the operation under Go Ahead London. The bus itself was worn out and in a dire need of a refurbishment. The bus struggled to get up to any sort of speed, and judging by the reaction on some of the car driver's faces behind us I certainly wasn't the only one that was irritated.
Luckily the ride to Greenwich Town Centre isn't too long, and I could bail there. Service wise the 386 was doing quite well for a first day, probably because Go Ahead are already familiar with many of the areas that the route serves and so were able to adapt easily to the conditions that they were faced with. Hopefully the service on the route continues to be of a good standard for the next 5, or maybe 7 years.
As for the buses that the 386 is now allocated, the staple is predominantly the Ex 299 batch of SENs, SEN13-SEN20 although these are topped up with some Euro6 Enviro200s which were made free by the 100s curtailment at the London Wall in the form of SE217-SE220.
The other route having a change on the 2nd of June is route 44, which operates between Victoria Station and Tooting station. It operates out of Go Ahead London's headquarters of Merton (AL). The contract was renewed on the same day that the 386 was taken over by the company. A new bus type for London in the form of Wright Streetdeck Micro hybrids were introduced.
Route 44 started operation in 1950, running between Mitcham and London Bridge. 1963 saw a Sunday extension come into force extending the route to the Blackwall Tunnel although in 1971 this Sunday extension was reduced only as far as Aldgate and would only operate on Sunday market hours. November 1988 saw the route gain a Sunday extension on its opposite end from Mitcham to Sutton. In 1991 the route was restructured to operate between Vauxhall and Tooting, with new route 344 taking over the eastern section of the route. In November 2006 the route was sent via Chelsea Bridge to Victoria forming the 44 that is in operation today. Its previous contract term saw it allocated with Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TL buses. Many of these buses have now been stood down from service on the 44.
The Streetdeck Micro Hybrids entered service ahead of the commencement of the new contract on the 24th of May with most of the new buses in service by the 2nd of June. These buses aren't your standard Hybrids like the E40H or Volvo B5LH. The Micro Hybrid system involves collecting the energy from braking, although instead of using the electricity to push the bus forwards the electricity is used to power other electrical components of the bus such as the air cooling or lighting systems. This means the engine won't have to burn as much fuel on generating electricity for those components, saving on fuel consumption. This however means that they're still effectively diesel buses with a Diesel engine that propels the bus forward.
I went to take a ride on the new WSDs that same day that the 386 was taken over. After waiting for far longer than I'd have liked at Battersea Park WSD10 eventually turned up to take me to Victoria. Before I even sat down I was almost knocked off my feet by the sharp braking of the bus, although I'm not too sure if that was down to my driver or if it was the nature of the bus. An electrical hum was also noticeable throughout my ride, and it managed to drown out the sound of the iBus announcements. Although in general I think most people who board a Wright bodied bus aren't expecting loud announcements anyway!
Overall from my experience the Streetdeck certainly is going to be an acquired taste among enthusiasts, and it wasn't my cup of tea. Although I think many will enjoy it for its unique quirks. Therefore I do recommend giving the unique bus type a try if you are in the area and have time, or if you would like to spend a day out having bus rides. Hopefully Go Ahead continue to provide a good service on the 44 and 386 for the next 5, or maybe 7 years!
I'd like to thank GloriousWater for allowing his photo to be used in this post. Please check out his Flickr and YouTube accounts.
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| SEN16 at Woolwich © EastLondoner |
Luckily the ride to Greenwich Town Centre isn't too long, and I could bail there. Service wise the 386 was doing quite well for a first day, probably because Go Ahead are already familiar with many of the areas that the route serves and so were able to adapt easily to the conditions that they were faced with. Hopefully the service on the route continues to be of a good standard for the next 5, or maybe 7 years.
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| SE152 on stand at Blackheath © EastLondoner |
The other route having a change on the 2nd of June is route 44, which operates between Victoria Station and Tooting station. It operates out of Go Ahead London's headquarters of Merton (AL). The contract was renewed on the same day that the 386 was taken over by the company. A new bus type for London in the form of Wright Streetdeck Micro hybrids were introduced.
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| PVL170 seen on the 44 © GloriousWater |
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| WSD6 seen at Battersea Park © EastLondoner |
I went to take a ride on the new WSDs that same day that the 386 was taken over. After waiting for far longer than I'd have liked at Battersea Park WSD10 eventually turned up to take me to Victoria. Before I even sat down I was almost knocked off my feet by the sharp braking of the bus, although I'm not too sure if that was down to my driver or if it was the nature of the bus. An electrical hum was also noticeable throughout my ride, and it managed to drown out the sound of the iBus announcements. Although in general I think most people who board a Wright bodied bus aren't expecting loud announcements anyway!
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| WSD10 seen on stand at Victoria © EastLondoner |
I'd like to thank GloriousWater for allowing his photo to be used in this post. Please check out his Flickr and YouTube accounts.
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