Streetliting Crystal Palace

There are not many routes in London that use long single deck buses, back in the 2000s there were plenty of 18m bendy buses running around on the streets, however since these vanished not many routes use buses longer than 11 meters. One of the few routes which uses, or used 12 meter vehicles, the 227 has just completed a move from Stagecoach London to Go Ahead London. 

Often in TfL's case, they seem to prefer converting a route to double decker when it needs a capacity increase rather than introducing full size buses. However with routes which have physical restrictions, such as the 227 this is not an option and therefore full sized single decker buses are often used. In the 227s case the restriction against double decker buses is a low bridge at the appropriately named Shortlands Station with it also acting as a barrier for route 358 which also uses 12 meter long buses. 

23107 seen on stand at Bromley North
© EastLondoner

The 227 is a relatively old route, starting service in 1934 running between Penge and Welling via Beckenham, Shortlands, Bromley, Chislehurst, Mottingham and Eltham. 4 years later it was cut back from Welling to Chislehurst although in 1951 it was extended from Penge to Crystal Palace. The next major change didn't come until 1991, although in-between there were a few Saturday extensions to the route. In 1991 the route was cut back to Bromley North which formed the route which is still in operation today. Since inception the 227 had been based at Bromley (TB) garage although at times it did have partial allocations at Elmers End garage and Sidcup garage and between 1992 and 1997 it was based completely at Dunton Green under Kentish Bus operation after which it returned to Bromley (TB) and remained until the move to Go Ahead London. 

23109 seen at Crystal Palace
© EastLondoner

The move to Go Ahead London came as a shock to many, although not so much a surprise seeing as they were always a potential operator for the route. The latest contract under Stagecoach at Bromley garage saw it allocated with Mercedes Benz Citaro buses, a type not too common in London although very popular among passengers and drivers for their comfort and build quality. Therefore it came as no surprise the tender upset many enthusiasts as it would signal the end of the Citaro's reign on the 227, especially considering whatever Go Ahead would order would certainly not be Citaros as TfL had banned the type from being ordered by operators. It was soon announced that the vehicle type which would be the face of the 227 under Go Ahead would be Wright Streetlite MAX buses, funnily a bus type which is known for its poor build and ride quality. This would also be the first of the MAX variant of the Streetlite in London service (WS118-WS130), although despite the name they are slightly shorter than the Citaros by 50cm and have a much lower capacity than them. During testing it was also discovered that the new Streetlites couldn't make the U turn at Bromley North in one attempt like the Citaros used to, however the Streetlites need to reverse to make the manoeuvre. It was certainly shaping up to be a downgrade of a change for the route.

WS120 seen in Beckenham
© EastLondoner

The first day of Go Ahead operating the route came around quickly, unfortunately commitments over the weekend meant that I didn't have time to go and sample the service then so I went down to south London on Monday morning instead. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long for my bus to arrive in the form of WS129. I took a seat on the back row of the bus, immediately I noticed two things upon boarding. One of them was the very strong "new bus smell" and another one was how hot the bus was, although in general Streetlites don't tend to have a great reputation when it comes to air conditioning or air cooling. Most of the other passengers on the bus started reaching towards the windows to allow air in, however along with the air it also blew in an unsuspecting Butterfly right onto the back row where me and a few other individuals were seated. Needless to say a mini commotion broke out with everyone vacating the back row swiftly, although by this point the butterfly started flying around the bus and I decided that it might be better to wait for the bus behind rather than spending the whole journey trying to swat a butterfly out of the way. 

The interior of one of the 227's Streetlites
© EastLondoner

Luckily I didn't have to wait too long for the next 227, just an 8 minute wait which was within the advertised 6-10 minute wait advertised on the timetables. This time my bus would be another Streetlite, WS121. It was pretty much identical in first impressions as WS129 was, although thankfully there wasn't much wildlife on this bus! Despite the service operating well this bus was carrying a very healthy load of people showcasing the reason very well why the 227 is well deserving of its unique allocation. The crowd remained on the bus until we reached Bromley High Street where most of the passengers got off with only me and another passenger remaining onboard. 

WS129 at Bromley North
© EastLondoner

I know many people will take some time to adjust to seeing long 11.5m Streetlites in London much like it probably took time for some people to adjust to seeing a long Enviro200 MMC on the streets. One thing that I particularly noticed when taking my first glance at the buses was how far back the rear door actually is as well as the particularly long wheelbase. It was always going to be hard to get enthusiasts to warm to this change, Citaros for many are the undisputed champions of the low floor era especially coupled with the very poor reputation Streetlites have. I found the buses themselves to be decent, they were smooth although I'd be lying if I said they didn't get pushed to their limits at times on the route. 

MBK1 seen at Bromley North
© EastLondoner

Although do not fret, even if the 227s full allocation of Citaros might now be confined to the books of history Orpington garage still do have a fleet of Citaros kept for route 358, these are expected to be fitted with blinds for the 227 shortly and hopefully this allows the potential for any stray workings. Orpington do also have a sole short 10.5m Citaro K and uniquely this is equipped with LED blinds as it previously was shared among various operators as a demonstrator vehicle. Go Ahead didn't hang about with throwing that onto the 227 and I managed to come across it while sampling the Streetlites. Funnily enough this bus did also have a stint at Stagecoach and during that time it also operated on route 227, making this bus one of very few (except LTs and loans covering late buses) to do the same route under two operators.

WS130 seen heading to Crystal Palace
© EastLondoner

Is this a step forward for route 227? That might be pushing it, is it a step backwards? Arguably yes. However despite the allocation change that has headlined this service change what matters at the end of the day is the service that is provided and Go Ahead have mostly been providing a good service since they took over bar a few hiccups - although it's only been three days as I write this. No doubt this will certainly for many people be a very controversial change.