Arriva have been having quite a beating as of late in Tenders, losing quite a few routes. However a silver lining for them has seen the gain of route 202 out of Norwood garage (N) from Go Ahead London at Croydon (C). 

WHV73 on stand at Blackheath
© EastLondoner

The 202 initially started operation in 1991 as a single decker route, running between Crystal Palace and Blackheath via Sydenham, Catford, Lee and Blackheath Village. Those of you familiar with the route will have already realised that this is the same route which is followed today, making it one of the few routes which haven't changed much through their existence. When the route was initially introduced, it was operated by Stagecoach out of Catford (TL), however a tender change in 2008 saw Metrobus take over the route running it out of their Croydon base (C). The contract renewal in 2015 gave the route a much needed double decker conversion with some brand new Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 buses. 

Two buses stand at Blackheath
© EastLondoner

The tender award towards the end of 2019 resulted in Arriva winning the contract to the route running out of Norwood with brand new Hybrid buses being introduced, an award many people didn't see coming. This did throw up some interesting questions though, as Arriva's preferred manufacturer for hybrid double decker buses, Wright, had just fallen into administration and any delivery and fulfilment of orders would have been in doubt. However, near the start of 2020, it was announced that Alexander Dennis were the company who would be getting the order with them delivering brand new Enviro400 MMC bodied E40H buses, the first of the type for Arriva London. Although, they do have E40H buses already, in the form of E40H Citys based at Brixton (BN) on the 133 and 333 alongside Ash Grove (AE) who operate them on the 78. Sadly, while Arriva may have dodged a bullet by not ordering with Wright, they couldn't avoid the one caused by the Coronavirus pandemic where all buses were delayed. However, luckily for Arriva, fellow route 405 also had a batch of E40Hs due, so the buses were conveniently swapped around to allow the 202 to have a full E40H allocation from the first day. 

Since the changeover in September, I've used the route a few times alongside the buses. Starting off with the positive aspect the buses are amazing, a part of me hopes that Arriva had been forced away from Wright a lot sooner. The interior suits the buses well and so far they have been well kept, albeit it's only been a month. While Arriva do have E40H Citys in the fleet, these buses come with the standard TfL interior with red seats and gold poles. Arriva's own interior with blue seats and ivory poles gives the already nice and spacious MMC interior an even more spacious feel, making it a really nice ride from a passenger's perspective. Oh, and of course there's USB ports at most seats as is standard on London's buses these days. So far the allocation of the route has been solidly E40H MMC, but a few strays of Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 buses have happened from batches kept at Norwood for other routes. I imagine these will eventually start to become common as more of the fleet is reblinded. 

HV398 seen at Blackheath
© EastLondoner

I did say earlier that talking about the buses would be the positive aspect, there sadly has been a negative aspect as well to these changes. Route 202 while initially may come across as a small suburban route does have a substantial portion running along the A205 between Lee and Catford. This section is often filled with traffic in the peaks and can cause a headache for controllers and as a result the service quality has seen a drop since the route left Go Ahead. Initial days saw almost all of the northbound service turned to Blackheath Village during the evening peak, however it's calmed down a lot now although far from perfect, showing that with a few more months Arriva are likely to get the hang of this challenging route and provide a good quality service to match the amazing standard of the buses. 

A side view of HT17 at Blackheath Station
© EastLondoner

With the increasing drive to get London's bus fleet closer towards zero emission, it's unknown whether Hybrids will soon be confined to the history books. Since the delivery of these buses, London for the first time in years has no diesel powered buses on order from any manufacturer. While routes 202 and 405 make up the first batch of Arriva's Enviro400 MMCs for London, they could also very well form the last batch of them. 

It's been a couple of months now since route 25 returned to Stagecoach operation, more recently sister route 425 has also moved to operation with the company to be reunited with the 25. 

© EastLondoner

Before we move onto the change the 425 has undergone, let's pay a quick re-visit to what has happened at Stagecoach and Tower Transit since the 25 changed operator. I did mention in the post that route 25 spent its last year at Tower Transit allocated with Wright StreetDeck HEV96 buses which were to move to the 262 and 473 upon the loss. 

WH31103 seen at Gallions Reach
© EastLondoner

The StreetDecks have never been the most popular buses in London among enthusiasts, known for being completely gutless and sounding like a washing machine on its last spin cycle. So I wasn't the happiest bunny out there that they were being put onto my local route, the 262. Especially as the Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 buses that the 262 had prior were amazing vehicles, full of character and always a nice pleasure to ride on, despite being 9 years old by that point. Type-training for the 262 and 473 drivers started in Spring 2020, with the StreetDecks being seen along the routes through the day with drivers on board. The buses then started appearing in service in May 2020, a few weeks before the loss of route 25. 

WH31105 seen at Stratford
© EastLondoner

The day the 25 was lost the 262 and 473 took up their full allocation of StreetDecks as expected. I didn't ride them for a couple of weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however once restrictions were eased I did use one on the 262 on my way to Stratford, which got turned and then I also happened to get one on the 473. They manage alright along the much more suburban sections on the route, however a decent portion of the 262 is also down many more quieter roads and there's a short bit on the North Circular Road which the buses really seem to struggle with. It's not hard to see why only three batches of StreetDecks were ordered for London operation, with the other batches being the Go Ahead ones on the 44 and the Arriva ones on the 340 (which don't seem to actually do the 340 much). The Streetdecks released from the 25 also found themselves a third home on the 308, however I don't have a picture of one of those to hand sadly. 

DN33796 seen at Stratford
© EastLondoner

Going back to the 425, I'm not going to go too much into the history of the route as I covered that in a post two years ago and not much has changed since then. The route's recent tenure at Tower Transit saw the route allocated with a mix of Alexander Dennis Enviro400 vehicles, originally ordered for the route in 2013, which were then later topped up with some B9TL-Gemini 2 buses made free from the 25, following the 425's extension to Ilford. Due to the pandemic sweeping the world, the buses that were to be allocated to route 425 were running around a month later than expected. As a result, they weren't going to be available for the first day of the route and Stagecoach had to scrape spare buses from throughout their fleet to operate it, so what would actually end up operating on the route became a lottery until the morning Stagecoach started its first day of running the service.

VN36133 seen at Ilford Broadway
© EastLondoner

12300 seen at Ilford
© EastLondoner

The allocation was scraped together using various buses that were stood down due to service reductions on routes due to the pandemic, with the allocation being made up out of a few spare standard Enviro400 E40H buses. Some of WH's Smart Hybrids which were fitted with LEDs, some of the 261s spare Smart Hybrids which were made spare due to the service reductions, alongside some buses which were not needed on route 25, again due to the pandemic. However due to all the short notice of gathering buses from across the fleet, not all buses ended up having their blinds programmed correctly - most notably, the existing standard E40H buses on the route were drafted in, which led to the buses displaying blank when heading towards Ilford.

Loaned from TB, 11070 is seen at Ilford Broadway
© EastLondoner

11383 seen at Stratford Bus Station
© EastLondoner

Like the 25 change, the 425 was also due to receive some brand new Smart Hybrid Enviro400 MMCs to be its allocation under Stagecoach. These were to be identical to the batch that was already introduced on route 25, with the only differences being some changes to the cab to prevent Coronavirus spread and red advert frames as opposed to gold advert frames. The buses started entering service during the month of August to very little fanfare, alongside the delayed examples over at Abellio for routes 285 and 270. In practice, the buses are mixed in with the batch that was delivered for route 25 due to being exactly the same specification alongside being ULEZ compliant. 

11348 seen at Ilford
© EastLondoner

There's not much else to say about this change, other than some form of normality is slowly starting to resume again. There's a fair few interesting service changes coming up over the next few weeks so it will certainly be interesting to see them take place. Remember to keep an eye on our Tenders page for the latest information! 

The current situation we are in has led to many delays. However, one substantial delay occurred to a change that was meant to take place all the way in January and has only just been completed. Route 323, which runs between Canning Town Bus Station and Mile End Station in East London, has just finished its conversion to electric buses. 

29201 seen alongside a 147 at Canning Town
© EastLondoner

36364 seen at Canning Town
© EastLondoner

Before we go into some detail about the buses, let me go through some history of the route.  This very short route has a fittingly short history. It was introduced in January 2003, running between Canning Town and Mile End via Manor Road, Stephenson Street, Prologis Park, Twelvetrees Crescent and Bow Common Lane. This is still the same route followed today. The contract, however, was initially held by First London, operating out of their Hackney garage. The route was transferred to Lea Interchange (LI) when Hackney garage was forced to close, but was then lost to the East London Bus Group out of West Ham (WH) in 2010 which had conveniently opened up on the line of route a few years prior where the route has remained since. The East London Bus Group was purchased by the Stagecoach group in 2010 and the 323 is now a Stagecoach London operation.

29201 seen at Mile End
© EastLondoner

The renewal in January 2020 called for brand new electric buses (29201-29205) to be introduced on the route. There was no sign of them in January. January became February, and February became March, before they finally got delivered towards the end of March. However, by this point, the Coronavirus pandemic had started to cause havoc through the country and entering these buses into service was not the biggest priority at hand. Time passed and it was only on the 20th of June that these buses finally turned a wheel in service due to the various delays that the pandemic had caused. However I can certainly tell you that the wait was worth it!

High back seats
© EastLondoner

Unexpectedly, the buses were delivered with a few unique features that nobody thought we'd see anytime soon. The most obvious one being the inclusion of high back seats throughout the bus. These could be found on some seats on Stagecoach ALX400s and Abellio Enviro400s, but it was not normal to see them span the whole bus. However, that was not the only additional feature that the buses had, as they also came with phone holders on the back of seats along with the now expected USB port. Certain seats also had a more accessible stop bell on their rear, although from my experience they weren't the smoothest to push. 

An example of how the rear of the seats look, including a USB port, stop bell and USB charger
© EastLondoner

29201's rear
© EastLondoner

Due to the increased size of the seats, the rear row only consists of 4 seats. I couldn't get a picture of them as someone was already sitting there and I wanted to adhere to social distancing guidelines so you'll have to take my word on it! The exterior design of the buses is to the new updated design of the Enviro200 EV that was introduced initially with the brand new batch of buses for the 444, including a battery pod that spans the whole length of the roof of the bus as opposed to just a small portion. Although this does also mean that the rear number display is also slightly off centre for some reason - although I'm sure there's a logistical reason behind it! 

29201 seen at Canning Town
© EastLondoner

Overall these buses are a great addition to the London bus network, bringing brand new features to their passengers - albeit buses out of London have had these features for a long time. It's unclear whether these features will become standard on future deliveries, we'll have to wait and see for that. But for now it's great to see TfL take baby steps on improving on board facilities for passengers - hopefully they get to the service aspect next!

South London route 270 is the latest route to change operators during lockdown, leaving the hands of Go-Ahead London and venturing to its new home at Abellio London.

Route 270 is a new-ish route, having only been about for almost 30 years. It was introduced in 1991 as a response to changes of the bus network in Wandsworth. Routes 219, 220 and 280 were cut or re-routed in a bid to aid reliability. Those that don't know or use the 270 will probably recognise it as the route in our website banner!

London General were the first operator of the route, running the route from their head office Merton (AL) garage with MCW Metrobuses. The route has been operating between Putney Bridge Station and Mitcham Cricketers following the same routing it has today via Wandsworth and Tooting.

10 years later, the route saw its first low floor double decker buses introduced in the form of Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TLs, falling under London General's 'PVL' class.

PVL375 (PJ53 NKM) is seen leaving Putney Bridge on route 270, almost 10 years ago.
 London Bus Breh

Other than a minor reroute in the Mitcham area, the route has had a fairly boring and limited history up until Saturday where it was lost for the first time. Rapidly growing London operator, Abellio, had won the route from their Battersea (QB) depot with brand new Enviro 400 MMC 'smart hybrid' buses. However, a 'last minute' change occurred with Abellio opting to mobilise the route from Beddington (BC) garage instead. No official reason for this was given, but spectators assume that Abellio may be using the spare space at Battersea (QB) to win more higher profile work from rival competitors, given their prime location and proximity to Central London. But of course, there's no substance to this so don't take it as gospel.

This was Abellio's third route takeover during the nationwide lockdown, which had severe ramifications on the bus network as a whole. One of the consequences is that bus manufacturers have had to pause output for several weeks, and even months, meaning many buses haven't been built and delivered on time. Route 270 was one of the routes impacted by factory shutdowns, with only some of the buses being delivered on time and the rest being held at the factory.

This has forced Abellio to temporarily pull a number of buses from across their fleet to cover the missing buses, mostly from their dedicated Rail Replacement fleet which consists mostly of the 2006/2007-plated Enviro 400s ex-route 452. The buses themselves haven't really made it to the 270, instead being placed on route 407. The newer, hybrid vehicles from the 407 have then made it to the 270 instead as demonstrated below.

Abellio 2583 (YY67 GZD) is seen leaving Putney Bridge station forecourt on route 270. 

The brand new Enviro 400 MMCs ordered for route 270 are equipped with ISA (an automatic, electronic speed limiter), lazzerini seats with the red Abellio moquette, USB chargers (as is standard with new buses) and are mirrorless too. Instead of mirrors, new cameras on the nearside and offside replace these, providing higher quality and clearer imaging for drivers. Many staff have hailed these as fantastic advances in technology.

Seen also at Putney Bridge is new bus 2024 demonstrating the 'mirrorless' rear-view mirrors (see the black compartments above the driver's windows).

Abellio 2024 (SK20 AZO) on route 270 at Putney Bridge showing the new order.

Abellio have settled onto the route quite well. The company were quite excited to take over the 270 last weekend. The takeover also saw the route resume its Monday to Friday schedule for the first time in several weeks and is also taking fares again.

The fleet list for the route can be seen below:

SK20 AZL - 2022

SK20 AZN - 2023

SK20 AZO - 2024

SK20 AZP - 2025

SK20 AZR - 2026

SK20 AZT - 2027

SK20 AZU - 2028

SK20 AZV - 2029

SK20 AZW - 2030

SK20 AZX - 2031

SK20 AZZ - 2032

SK20 BAA - 2033

SK20 BAO - 2034

SK20 BAU - 2035

SK20 BAV - 2036

We'd like to take a shout out to say thank you to all the transport workers putting their lives on the line in this time of difficulty. Please support them by following government guidelines - wear masks on public transport for the whole of your journey, carry disinfectants such as hand sanitiser and also wear gloves if possible. Don't take unnecessary journeys on buses and trains for the time being, as tempting as it is to. We will be reunited with our beloved big, red buses soon enough.

Just as a disclaimer, this blog does have key workers who do occasionally work very close to the 270 route and had covered this service change on the way from home to work. If it wasn't for this, the service change wouldn't be covered in respect to the transport workers and also to comply with government guidelines.

Also, this is post 300 - thank you for sticking with us for the last 7 years, and we hope you continue to stay with us for some more. This wouldn't have happened without you.

Thank you for reading this and please do stay safe, it's more important now than ever.

The London Bus game has always been a risky business. The words swings and roundabouts are always thrown around. Today we focus on one of London's most famous routes. Route 25 which runs between Holborn Circus and Ilford has made a Transit-tion (excuse the old joke) back to operation under Stagecoach London. 

Two 25s stand at Ilford
© EastLondoner

If you don't know about route 25, then you disappoint me - however do not fret as this post will cover it all. 

Route 25 up until last year was the busiest route in London. It runs between City Thameslink Station and Ilford via St Paul's, Bank, Aldgate, Whitechapel, Mile End, Stratford, Forest Gate and Manor Park with a night variant running further from City Thameslink to Oxford Circus. This route no doubt makes it a vital artery of East London. To truly appreciate the story of the 25 we need to go through some history of the route.

DN33645 seen at Redbridge Central Library
© EastLondoner

Route 25 has its records lasting before 1934, no surprise considering it's a very old route and records of route history before then are far and few between. The route has generally run between East London and Central London, during this time it frequently fluctuated and at one point only being a Stratford to Goodmayes route. The route's history is so long that I'll probably bore you all if I go through it, however if you do want to see some information I'll point you in the direction of this wonderful page by Ian Armstrong. 

Following privatisation in the 1990s, route 25 (now an Oxford Circus to Ilford route) was being operated out of Bow (BW) which fell onto the operation of Stagecoach London. However its tender in 1999 saw First winning the route out of Dagenham (DM), although later years saw it transferred temporarily to a base in Rainham (R). The reason for this is unclear as it was said to be a provisional move to prepare for bendy bus operation on the route. However all this ended up going down the drain anyway, as despite it did convert to articulated operation it moved back to Stagecoach out of a new garage in Waterden Road (WA). The type chosen was Mercedes Benz Citaro Gs, as was the standard order for London. Following London winning the 2012 Olympics, Waterden Road (WA) garage had to close as it was on the site of the Olympic Park and the route was transferred, coincidentally to a new base in Rainham (RM). This was actually exactly the same site First operated the route from ironically. Once West Ham (WH) was built the route was transferred there in 2008. 

VN36162 seen on Regent Street
© EastLondoner

This arrangement continued until the route was tendered in 2010, with a new contract in 2011. Funnily enough the route transferred back to First operation, this time out of Lea Interchange (LI). Brand new Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TL buses were ordered for the route. 2013 saw the sale of First London and route 25 passed to Tower Transit. Re-tender in 2016 for a change saw the route being retained with the same operator, it was widely expected the route would have its fleet changed to a full Hybrid allocation due to the impending ULEZ in 2020. However, TfL instead put the route on a short term contract with the intention to re-tender it just before the ULEZ kicked in so it could have its fleet renewed then. In December 2018 route 25 was cut back from Oxford Circus to Holborn Circus.

WH31114 seen at Woodgrange Park
© EastLondoner

Since then the date for the ULEZ was brought forward to October 2019, which posed a problem as the 25 now needed a mid contract upgrade. The Tower Transit win of the 262 and 473 came as a saving grace as new Hybrids were ordered against the contract to those routes and aptly swapped with the 25s own allocation to give that route a fully Hybrid fleet in the form of Wright StreetDeck HEV96 buses - being topped up with some buses from the 328s frequency reduction in West London (these buses went onto route 308 in return for some EvoSetis to go onto the 25). However as a short term contract had been awarded in 2016, there was no choice but to tender it again after the short term, although it got extended by a year. The existing allocation of Wright StreetDecks were planned to move to routes 262 and 473 upon the 25s new contract so a new fleet would be needed. Despite the 25 was retained on tender in 2016 that didn't hold true for 2020s tender, Stagecoach won it back again - along with route 425.

MV38239 seen at Ilford Broadway
© EastLondoner

It was quickly confirmed route 25 would be returning to its traditional home of Bow (BW) and the new allocation under Stagecoach would consist of brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC Smart Hybrids (11341-11375). This was the company's first win of a route in Central London since they won the 25 back in 2004 (Route 205 was however won by the ELBG in 2009). The buses were sighted in build in December, and the first buses were spotted being tested in Scotland in January. Everything seemed to be going well, however since then the Covid-19 pandemic had a massive impact on the whole UK economy, leading to Alexander Dennis to temporarily suspend production of buses, and some of the 25s buses which were on delivery were put into storage at one of Stagecoach's depots in Carlisle. 

11351 seen at Hainault Street
© EastLondoner

The new contract commenced on the 23rd of May, during a period of lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Doubts had been cast over whether the change was going to take place as planned due to the disruption in deliveries and training however the change did go ahead as planned. Stagecoach took on the contract just after midnight on the 23rd of May, starting operation with route N25 which was 11359, in the morning they took on route 25 which was kicked off with 11369. This was not an easy change to cover, as I would have thought for a route which was pretty close to me. However joy-riding a bus route during times like this is not something to promote, therefore the best I could do is drive my car to see how the 25 was getting on during its first day back at Stagecoach. 

11361 seen at Redbridge Central Library
© EastLondoner

I would imagine quite a few readers are already aware of how it feels like to ride an Enviro400 MMC so I don't think I'll be depriving you guys of content by not divulging too much into that because I couldn't ride the buses. However like all recent buses the batch for the 25 come with the latest trimmings. These include USB ports on the back of seats, rear view cameras instead of rear view mirrors and intelligent speed assist which limits the bus to the speed of the road that it is travelling on. Passengers in the East London area area already well accustomed to the Enviro400 MMC type as it's found on many routes already paralleled by the 25 - either as an allocation or as an unallocated working. 

11369 seen at Redbridge Central Library
© EastLondoner

Routes have been known to suffer "first day syndrome" when they initially move to an operator, the chances of this being increased with the "difficulty" of a route to operate. However none of that was evident on the 25 on its first day, with operation already showing a decent standard. Maybe helped by the fact they used to operate the route and operate routes 8, 86 and 205 which share substantial parallel sections with the 25. The only notable issue spotted was a single turn at Bow Church, there might have been a few more that escaped me however. I'm also not quite sure how Stagecoach are dealing with running time and regulation, as you need to be able to ride a route to find that out. The route has been allocated the running numbers of BW1+ for the day service, funnily enough the exact same sequence it used when operating out of Bow prior to 1999. 

11354 seen leaving the Ilford stand
© EastLondoner

Adjusting to the "new normal" is hard, and will no doubt affect the way us at the blog cover future changes. It won't be as easy to cover changes all around London for a couple of months but hopefully it won't be that long until we are once again free to do so. In a couple of weeks Stagecoach will also take on the operation on route 425, and soon electric buses will also enter service on route 323 so there are exciting times ahead for the company. 

Until then, remember to stay away from using Public Transport non-essentially and to help save lives.

It still feels like yesterday when I wrote my first ever post for this blog, it was a post about Tower Transit's gains of routes 212, 444 and 488. Since then five years have flown by really quickly and routes 212 and 444 have moved on once again on tender, this time moving to Go Ahead London at Northumberland Park (NP). 

I can only apologise due to the lack of posts on the blog as of late. I have been really busy and have been struggling to fit in time for buses, coupled with the lack of service changes between December and March it's led to a "post drought" on the blog, however thankfully I have managed to find some time to cover the first service change of the year. 

BH63101 seen at Turnpike Lane
© EastLondoner

Tower Transit mysteriously had won the contract to these two routes back in 2014 despite their nearest garage, Lea Interchange (LI) wasn't particularly near either route. Soon it was made public that Tower Transit had applied for planning permission for a new garage in Edmonton which would be a good base to run both routes from, however routes 212 and 444 were operated from LI in the meantime. Some months later Tower Transit didn't continue to pursue the planning application for the site and routes 212 and 444 remained operating out of Lea Interchange (LI). Not much had actually changed about the routes since the team wrote a post 5 years ago on the matter. Although one major change did come in following the PVR reduction and subsequent withdrawal of route RV1 when the Hydrogen buses that were allocated to that route were deployed onto route 444. Both variants of the Hydrogen vehicles would appear often on the route, the Wright and VanHool variants. 

WSH62995 seen at Chingford on Tower Transit's last day of 444 operation
© EastLondoner

WV46204 seen on stand at Chingford on LI's last day
© EastLondoner

The Hydrogen vehicles were still supplemented by the Streetlites that were initially ordered for the route. Although some of the allocation did move on to Westbourne Park (X) for use on route 218 which was introduced in December 2019. The photo that I have included of the Streetlite isn't actually part of the batch that was ordered for the 444, but are actually part of a newer batch that was later ordered for the contract renewal of route 236, I never did get around to taking a picture of the Streetlites from the 444s own batch. However both batches did intermix quite frequently and there isn't a huge difference between the buses as a passenger. I'm not too sure what's in stock for the 444s batch of Streetlites that didn't end up going to Westbourne Park (X).

VH38106 seen at Walthamstow Bus Station
© EastLondoner

Route 212 didn't have as an exciting allocation as route 444 did under Tower Transit, it predominantly stuck with its allocated Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 buses throughout the contract, however there were common appearances of Gemini 2 B9TLs which were also found at the garage. In 2017 the newer style of Gemini 3 buses did also start making appearances when they were introduced to LI following a PVR reduction on route 328 at Westbourne Park. I have included pictures of both types of Gemini 3s on the route, however unfortunately. I do not have a picture of the Gemini 2s that did the route. The Gemini 3s that were allocated to route 212 are now heading off lease so are unlikely to see further use within the company. 

VH38115 seen at Walthamstow Bus Station
© EastLondoner

It didn't come as too much of a surprise when on the 31st of May it was announced that routes 212 and 444 would make the move to Go Ahead London. Route 444 was to get new electric buses while route 212 was to get new Hybrid buses....or was it?

Go Ahead London won/retained a few more routes the month afterwards and a few of the routes, 106, 230 and 357 were awarded with their bus type to be confirmed. A few months later it was confirmed that all three, alongside route 212 were to get brand new electric double decker buses. At the same time making Northumberland Park Western Europe's biggest electric bus depot. The electric order was for brand new Enviro200 MMC EVs for the 444, similar to those found on other routes in London and Enviro400 City EVs for the double decker routes, similar to those found on the 43 and 94. 

The Enviro400 Citys were delivered in time for the new contract, just barely however with some buses still arriving during the week of the takeover. Although Go Ahead did manage to avert any delay to service due to type training by using a demonstrator bus to type train the drivers in the weeks prior to the takeover. The brand new Enviro400 City EVs were to be coded Ee, similar to the SEe used for their single decker variants. 

Ee8 seen at St James' Street
© EastLondoner

I went out on the Wednesday after the take-over to see how the buses performed and how the service was getting along. I met the 212 at St James' Street, my bus was Ee2 and would be my ride to Chingford. Once we left it wasn't too long until we caught up the bus in front, and were made to regulate for 5-6 minutes to help even the service out. The bus was relatively lightly loaded through the journey, probably expected for a journey just after 1pm. Like all other Enviro400 City EVs these buses do not have any rear lower deck windows due to the placement of the batteries. Like all new buses from Go Ahead these buses are also equipped with wing cameras instead of wing mirrors in order to give the driver a wider field of view and to reduce the blind spot on the vehicle. 

Lower Deck Interior

The interior on these vehicles, apart from the lack of rear window is similar to all other Enviro400 City EVs like those you would find on the 43 and 94. Key differences between the standard Hybrid and EV versions include two sets in front of the stairs upstairs, and two seats directly behind the driver on the lower deck. There are also no rear facing seats on the lower deck due to the rear seats being placed on the wheelarch due to the space taken up by the batteries at the rear 

of the bus. This does also heavily reduce the legroom available at the rear seats, so that might be something to bear in mind should you be quite tall. The air conditioning on this vehicle also had made its presence known, something that actually made me quite happy to be wearing a thick jacket.

Upper Deck Interior

The buses themselves are wonderful to ride on, and in my opinion some of the best buses London currently has to offer. There are also still more batches to come for Northumberland Park (NP) for the gains of the 106, 230 and the retain of the 357. Arriva are also due a batch in early 2021 for route 319 out of Brixton (BN). 

Ee2 seen at St James' Street
© EastLondoner

Unlike the buses for the 212, the buses for route 444 were not all on time. Some of the batch arrived in time for the takeover however during the first few days, and as I write this post some existing Enviro200s are helping make up the majority of the allocation on the route alongside a few new electric buses. The existing Enviro200s have come from route 364, which recently got an allocation of new buses. These should soon be replaced as the new electric buses continue to arrive. 

SE29 seen on stand at Turnpike Lane
© EastLondoner

SEe110 seen entering Chingford Bus Station
© EastLondoner

On the first day of Go Ahead London's operation it became apparent why the 444s electric buses were running late. They were to be the first buses of a new design to further optimise the layout of the vehicle for operation. Key changes included making the battery pod at the top of the bus a bit shorter, however now spanning the entire length of the bus and making the bus slightly longer from 10.8m to 10.9m. There is also an upgraded heating and air conditioning system which uses less energy, and this in turn allows the range of the vehicle itself to be extended. This signifies further development in the successful partnership between Alexander Dennis and BYD with both sides working together to optimise the vehicle to suit the needs of its customers. 

SEe110 seen at Chingford Bus Station
© EastLondoner

When I went to do the route thankfully I didn't have to wait that long for the bus to turn up as SEe110 was already on stand. Automatically upon boarding I noticed the effectiveness of the new air conditioning system which was doing a good job in keeping the bus cool. It wasn't that long until we left. The bus itself is similar in ride quality to all other BYD Enviro200 EVs found throughout London, something I am becoming increasingly used to due to the popularity of the vehicle among operators. As we approached Chingford Mount the air conditioning showed no sign of slowing down and I was getting uncomfortably cold in the bus so I decided to get off there. It's no doubt that the improvements are working well - maybe too well!

Something which took a few people by surprise over the first few days was the presence of a mysterious WVN when the route was searched on LVF. It was later confirmed that this was actually SED1, an Enviro200 MMC demonstrator which had previously been used on route 39 and route W14. I managed to come across it when waiting for SEe110 to depart Chingford. I'm not sure how long this bus is expected to be around, so if you want a ride on it this time around you might want to head for route 444 sooner rather than later, the same can also be said for the diesel Enviro200s that are temporarily plying the route alongside the electric buses as these are expected to be gone from the route within the next two weeks. 

SEe110 and SED1 seen at Chingford
© EastLondoner

Overall routes 212 and 444 have each gained a great batch of buses for the next 5, or maybe 7 years. Service currently on both routes does leave a bit to be desired however it's still early days and no doubt Go Ahead will get used to the route and hopefully will be able to provide the locals a service that is of the standard to match the buses. 

Thank you to all our readers for being patient with us due to the current lack of posts. All the bloggers are unfortunately really busy with other commitments, we do still plan to post articles on further changes however they might be late and there might be large gaps between posts.