The Smart Future
If you remember back to August 2017, Stagecoach suffered a major blow losing long standing routes 5, 15 and 115. However even though at the time things might have seemed a bit down for them a tender award two days before the loss of the 5 group saw positive results for the company. This award saw the retain of routes 169, 241, 247, 287 and 330 as well as the gain of route 474. New buses were specified for the 169, 241, 330 and 474.
The route which changed operator, the 474 will be covered first. It operates between Manor Park and Canning Town, Hermit Road running via East Ham, Beckton, North Woolwich and Silvertown. It's a relatively young route, only starting operation in 1999 as a replacement for the withdrawn section of route 69 between Silvertown and North Woolwich and ran between Canning Town, Hermit Road and Beckton Asda. It was operated out of Blue Triangle's Rainham depot. In 2005 the route was extended from Beckton Asda to Manor Park station via route 101, at this time it was also diverted to double run via City Airport. Forming the same route that is in operation today. In 2006 and 2007, Blue Triangle and Docklands Buses were both taken over by the Go Ahead group, and so the opportunity was taken to transfer the 474 from Rainham garage to Silvertown garage, which the route passed. In 2016 the 474 was transferred back to its old home of Blue Triangle, albeit this time Blue Triangle were housed at Barking (RR) garage, which was much closer to the 474 route than Rainham was. Therefore it was quite a blow when after all this time the 474 was lost, marking the first loss of the contract in the route's history.
Me being local to the 474 grew accustomed to its varying allocation through the years, especially standing out to me when I was a much younger child for being a Blue Triangle route in areas dominated by Stagecoach. Its last contract renewal with Go Ahead London in 2011 saw a partial allocation of Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TL buses purchased for it, with the rest of the allocation being made up out of existing buses. Although in practice the buses found on the 474 varied greatly, always being a lottery as to what type of bus you would get. Below I have included a summary of each type of bus that appeared on the 474 during its last round at Go Ahead London.
The Volvo B9TL was the staple allocation of the route, pictured is WVL416 which was one of the original batch brought for the route for its contract renewal in 2011. This photo was taken on the day that it was announced that the contract for the route would be passing to Stagecoach London.
Photo: © EastLondoner
Enviro400s became a common part of the 474s allocation soon after route 147 was taken over in 2016. They would often perform the night element to the route, and would often provide a nice smooth ride. This appearance of E177 was photographed a few weeks before the loss was announced.
Photo: © EastLondoner
Workings of Scania Omnicities were common during the route's time at Silvertown, using buses initially allocated to the 425 prior to the loss of it, and then during the final few weeks of the 474's time at SI route D8 gained an allocation of this type.
Photo © EastLondoner
Optare Olympus buses made their way East following the loss of routes 54 and 75 in 2014 for the large amount of school routes housed at Blue Triangle. Similar to the Omnicities these have a Scania N230UD chassis. These would frequently find themselves on the 474. Although the state of them is somewhat questionable, they would always provide you with a ride that you would remember.
Photo: © EastLondoner
The first model of the Wright Eclipse Gemini was what officially made the "existing" aspect of the 2011 bid up. These are on the Volvo B7TL chassis and many different ones have come and gone from the route. With the one in the picture now withdrawn from TfL service. Most of them were distinguishable by their unusual blind layout, with the ultimate destination on the top level instead of the lower one.
Photo: © EastLondoner
Another version of the B7TL which used to appear on the route was the Plaxton President type. Although these vanished from the route during 2016. Pictured is PVL115, which earned itself the title of the last centre staircase bus in London, performing its last service on the 29th October 2015 on route 474, just over a month after this picture was taken.
Photo: © EastLondoner
Scania Omnidekkas also once upon a time made up the allocation for the route prior to its 2011 contract. Pictured is 944 which was a Scania N94UD. It was a transfer up East following the loss of route 261 to Stagecoach back in 2013. This particular bus remained a common visitor to the route up until 2016 when it was withdrawn from TfL services.
Photo: © EastLondoner
Early in 2018 it was announced that Enviro400 MMCs with Smart Hybrid technology would be ordered for routes 169, 241, 330 and 474. However soon afterwards it was also announced that their delivery would be delayed, presumably down to the fact the technology they would use was still in development and required further testing. Much to the pleasure of many enthusiasts, including me! it was announced that Tridents would be brought back to temporarily run on route 474 released from contract losses over the previous months. In the days before the 474 was taken over the Tridents started to stretch their legs on other routes found at West Ham (WH).
19866 became the first Stagecoach bus to work route 474, soon joined by 19857. The first day of Stagecoach operation saw a full allocation of Enviro400s apart from 18491 making a brief appearance for 2 hours in the morning, although like most teenagers I was asleep at that time. I went out just before midday to check out how route 474 was doing with its new allocation, I was met by 19871 and 19857 on stand. Although 19871 left by the time I was close enough to the stand to take a picture. Luckily the route the 474 takes from the stand to the first stop gives you about a minute spare, allowing me to grab a quick picture. I managed to grab myself a seat on 19871 and it wasn't long until we were off. For most of the journey towards Beckton a 101 was ahead of us and that dealt with most of the crowd. Once we had got past Beckton we reached the section by North Woolwich which is known for being quite a fast section, although this was not to be on this particular journey as we were running early and had to regulate very often. Upon arrival at Canning Town we had to have a driver changeover and I wasn't waiting around for that just to go the extra two stops down Barking Road.
Later in the day I returned to Canning Town to sample the route again, although for a shorter distance. 19857 was going to be my bus this time, although the bus left stand early the bus still had to regulate fairly often, especially by West Silvertown. Despite the rerouting through Kier Hardie Estate had been postponed until December, the rerouting of the 474 in North Woolwich via Store Road towards Manor Park still took place, this managed to shave a minute or two off the 474s route. It wasn't long until we reached Beckton and I got off. I couldn't help but wonder why on earth buses are starting to become unbearable to ride due to excess regulation in the service. I can probably safely say everyone would prefer a reliable bus service, although very often I do question if it's worth having a reliable service if the service isn't attractive to use. Route 474 isn't also the only route to suffer from this either, many other routes in London are having similar problems. Over the next few days the route remained predominantly Enviro400 operated, although 18485 did creep onto the route on the Monday and 18491 then slipped out again, although this time for longer on Tuesday.
Over the coming weeks Tridents started to become a normal sight alongside the Enviro400s on the route which were to be the mainstay allocation.
Route 241 also had its contract renewed on the 5th of May 2018. The route started operation in 1968, created in order to replace the withdrawn section of route 41. This saw the route running between Victoria Docks and Manor House Station. 1973 saw the route withdrawn between Manor House and Stratford, with that section being replaced by new route 230, further change in 1976 saw the route diverted away from Victoria Docks to Kier Hardie Estate. In 1981 the route was extended from Kier Hardie Estate to Canning Town, Barking Road. 1988 saw the route withdrawn between Kier Hardie Estate and Canning Town although in 1991 this move was reversed, in 1993 a Sunday service was introduced giving the route a service everyday during the week. It wasn't until 2011 the route was then modified again, this time it was extended from Stratford Bus Station to Stratford City in order to serve the new Westfield Shopping Centre. Since 2001 route 241 has been allocated various batches of Tridents, although as is expected from West Ham (WH) the Tridents are mixed around all routes at the garage.
Route 330 is probably well known in London for being a very short yet busy bus route in East London, with the route only effectively being a straight line with a 90 degree turn at Upton Park (ignoring a slight kink at Forest Gate). The route started in 1991 running between Wanstead Park Station and Blackwall Station, 1999 saw the route withdrawn between Blackwall and Canning Town forming the same route that is in operation today. The route has been allocated with Tridents since 2000. Despite being a short route, it is quite well used being the only route to link Canning Town with Upton Park and Forest Gate and this makes it one of the top ranking in London in terms of people carried per mile.
The Enviro400 MMCs with Smart Hybrid technology started to arrive towards the end of June and were seen around during the early days of July on various training duties. The buses were also not delivered in numerical order, I'm not too sure of the reason personally. When the order was placed it was suggested that all of the buses would go to West Ham (WH) in order to keep the batch in one garage as they were the first of a new type. However the retain of route 179 a few months later from Barking (BK) saw Smart Hybrids also ordered for that route, and therefore the question popped up if there was actually any point in diverting the 169s buses to West Ham if Barking were going to get their own a few months later.
The buses entered service on the 474 towards the end of July, and soon after they started service on route 330.
The super capacitor technology isn't the only trick these new MMCs have up their sleeve however. A few of the new MMCs were selected to partake in a trial, alongside Metroline's new Optare Solos where they have been fitted with LED displays, with hope that if the trial is successful then the technology can be rolled out to all future London bus orders in an attempt to combat the ever increasing problems that are brought by blinds.
These LEDs aren't the type of LEDs found on buses outside of London. They are more accurately able to replicate the Johnston font used on TfL's destination displays, and are said to be much more easily readable in bright sunlight. The displays also have an ambient light sensor so that they can easily adjust to the changing light conditions throughout the day. Due to this technology they do not come cheap, with a display expected to set back the operator three times as much as it would cost to just fit in a normal LED display. Although it remains to be seen if this initial high cost will manage to offset any long term cost that tends to be the case with traditional roller blinds. A note of warning to enthusiasts, the high refresh rate on these buses can prove troublesome if you are trying to get a photograph however! It certainly took me quite a while to fiddle around with the settings to get a picture where the whole display was visible.
The LED blinds also make a more efficient use of space on the display, the size of the number can vary depending on the destination that is displayed. This is expected to prevent some routes having their number extremely squashed and to make them easier to read from a long distance.
Later in practice what ended up happening is that after the new buses were introduced to routes 474 and 330, the batches for the 241 and 169 both ended up being diverted to Catford (TL) for service on routes 136 and 199. The reason for this is not immediately clear although it is believed to be linked to the "Green bus zones" that these routes traverse, and the ULEZ in the case of route 136. The buses started to enter service at Catford on the 24th of August, with 11006 on the 47 and 11001 on the 136.
I went to test out the buses on the 25th of August. All of the batch for West Ham had entered service by this point. I headed to Beckton Bus Station and it wasn't long until 11034 turned up on the 474. Upon boarding there is no obvious difference between this and other versions of integral Enviro400 MMCs. Although there is a slight whine, similar to that given off by standard E40H buses. I would assume this is the capacitors charging up as this sound is most prominent when braking. The buses are also equipped with Start-Stop technology which turns the engine of the bus off while the handbrake is applied. Later in the day I also had a ride on 11006 on route 199, which was one of the buses that had been diverted to Catford. This bus was less impressive than the example that I had on the 474, but the 20s plenty roads of Lewisham might have had a part to play in that!
I didn't have too much time to sample one on the 330, but I did have a quick ride on one from Hermit Road to Canning Town Bus Station. Although considering the flat roads and traffic filled nature of that short route I doubt that I missed much by skipping a much longer ride on the route. If any of you reading to have an interesting experience on the 330 with these buses please make sure to leave it in a comment down below.
Routes 241, 330 and 474 are all going to have their routes adjusted on the 8th of December to co-incide with the opening of the Elizabeth Line. It's still unclear what exactly is going to happen when the time comes, but I'll run you through the proposed changes in case you aren't aware.
Route 241
This route is probably set up to have the most drastic change. TfL propose to withdraw it between Canning Town, Barking Road and Custom House Station. Although the route terminating at Custom House is only dependant on a new bus stand being provided, should that not happen then the route will be cut back to Prince Regent, where stand space is available. A further extension from Stratford City to Here East was also proposed, however TfL decided that would over-bus the section to Here East and therefore decided not to progress with the changes.
Route 474
I know it may irritate a few of you I'm not running through the changes in numerical order, but this is the way that it'll be the easiest to understand! In order to replace the withdrawn section of the 241 between Canning Town and Custom House, route 474 is to be rerouted via the existing 241 although it'll continue straight ahead past Freemasons Road and past Prince Regent to join its existing line of route at Connaught Bridge. This will mean it will no longer serve West Silvertown or Pontoon Dock Station.
Route 330
In order to replace the lost section of route 474, route 330 is proposed to be extended from Canning Town Bus Station to Pontoon Dock station via the existing 474. Consideration is also being given to it running to Custom House Station via Connaught Bridge but that is not expected to happen immediately when Crossrail opens.
In order to keep up with how these changes are progressing make sure to keep an eye on our tenders page which is regularly updated with all the latest news.
The rest of the batch is expected to enter service at Catford over the coming weeks. More of these buses are also due for Stagecoach London, ordered against the 179 contract starting in September and against the 261 contract starting in December although it's yet to be seen if these buses will end up at their intended locations. Further buses with similar technology are expected to be introduced to route 207 when that route makes the move to Abellio London in spring next year.
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| WVL349 seen alongside SE43 at Beckton Bus Station © EastLondoner |
Me being local to the 474 grew accustomed to its varying allocation through the years, especially standing out to me when I was a much younger child for being a Blue Triangle route in areas dominated by Stagecoach. Its last contract renewal with Go Ahead London in 2011 saw a partial allocation of Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TL buses purchased for it, with the rest of the allocation being made up out of existing buses. Although in practice the buses found on the 474 varied greatly, always being a lottery as to what type of bus you would get. Below I have included a summary of each type of bus that appeared on the 474 during its last round at Go Ahead London.
Photo: © EastLondoner
Photo: © EastLondoner
Photo © EastLondoner
Photo: © EastLondoner
Photo: © EastLondoner
Photo: © EastLondoner
Photo: © EastLondoner
Early in 2018 it was announced that Enviro400 MMCs with Smart Hybrid technology would be ordered for routes 169, 241, 330 and 474. However soon afterwards it was also announced that their delivery would be delayed, presumably down to the fact the technology they would use was still in development and required further testing. Much to the pleasure of many enthusiasts, including me! it was announced that Tridents would be brought back to temporarily run on route 474 released from contract losses over the previous months. In the days before the 474 was taken over the Tridents started to stretch their legs on other routes found at West Ham (WH).
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| 19857 seen on stand at Manor Park © EastLondoner |
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| 18491 seen at Gallions Reach Station © EastLondoner |
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| 18490 and 19871 seen at Canning Town Bus Station © EastLondoner |
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| 18269 seen at Stratford City Bus Station © EastLondoner |
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| 18457 seen on stand at Canning Town Bus Station © EastLondoner |
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| 11037 seen in Stratford City on training duties © EastLondoner |
The buses entered service on the 474 towards the end of July, and soon after they started service on route 330.
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| 11039 seen at Beckton Bus Station © EastLondoner |
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| 11038 seen turning into Beckton Bus Station © London Bus Breh |
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| 11036 turning onto Hermit Road © EastLondoner |
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| The control panel for the LED display |
Later in practice what ended up happening is that after the new buses were introduced to routes 474 and 330, the batches for the 241 and 169 both ended up being diverted to Catford (TL) for service on routes 136 and 199. The reason for this is not immediately clear although it is believed to be linked to the "Green bus zones" that these routes traverse, and the ULEZ in the case of route 136. The buses started to enter service at Catford on the 24th of August, with 11006 on the 47 and 11001 on the 136.
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| 11006 at Canada Water Bus Station © EastLondoner |
I didn't have too much time to sample one on the 330, but I did have a quick ride on one from Hermit Road to Canning Town Bus Station. Although considering the flat roads and traffic filled nature of that short route I doubt that I missed much by skipping a much longer ride on the route. If any of you reading to have an interesting experience on the 330 with these buses please make sure to leave it in a comment down below.
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| 11041 seen in Forest Gate © London Bus Breh |
Route 241
This route is probably set up to have the most drastic change. TfL propose to withdraw it between Canning Town, Barking Road and Custom House Station. Although the route terminating at Custom House is only dependant on a new bus stand being provided, should that not happen then the route will be cut back to Prince Regent, where stand space is available. A further extension from Stratford City to Here East was also proposed, however TfL decided that would over-bus the section to Here East and therefore decided not to progress with the changes.
Route 474
I know it may irritate a few of you I'm not running through the changes in numerical order, but this is the way that it'll be the easiest to understand! In order to replace the withdrawn section of the 241 between Canning Town and Custom House, route 474 is to be rerouted via the existing 241 although it'll continue straight ahead past Freemasons Road and past Prince Regent to join its existing line of route at Connaught Bridge. This will mean it will no longer serve West Silvertown or Pontoon Dock Station.
Route 330
In order to replace the lost section of route 474, route 330 is proposed to be extended from Canning Town Bus Station to Pontoon Dock station via the existing 474. Consideration is also being given to it running to Custom House Station via Connaught Bridge but that is not expected to happen immediately when Crossrail opens.
In order to keep up with how these changes are progressing make sure to keep an eye on our tenders page which is regularly updated with all the latest news.
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| 11052 and 11039 seen at Canning Town Bus Station © EastLondoner |
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