Hammering Changes

Many moons ago TfL consulted on changes to bus routes that they hoped to proceed with once Crossrail had opened. However with Crossrail delayed for the foreseeable future TfL are proceeding with the changes in little phases. We have already had a few Crossrail related bus changes take place such as the 25 and 301. The latest route sees route 266 and 391 changed as well as the introduction of routes 218 and 306.

TE1087 seen at Hammersmith
© EastLondoner

This change is mostly focussed on the Hammersmith area of London. Route 266 has been withdrawn between Hammersmith and Acton, High Street while route 391 has been withdrawn between Hammersmith and Fulham, Sand's End. New route 218 has been introduced running between Hammersmith and North Acton and another new route 306 has been introduced running between Acton Vale and Fulham, Sand's End. The contract to route 218 was awarded to Tower Transit who operate it out of their Westbourne Park (X) garage, while the contract for route 306 will go to RATP as a variation on the current route 391 contract which is being split into two. At the same time route 266 also ends its short 2 year tenure at Metroline and makes a move to RATP who won it on tender. 

TEH1467 seen at Brent Cross under Metroline's operation
© EastLondoner

I feel it makes sense to start discussing the contract renewal of route 266 before moving on to talk about the newly introduced routes. The route was introduced in 1962 running between Edgware and Hammersmith running via Colindale, West Hendon, Brent Cross, Willesden, Harlesden and Acton. In 1970 the route was withdrawn between West Hendon and Edgware on weekdays and cut back as far as Cricklewood Bus Garage on weekends, however a few journeys in the peaks did continue as far as Colindale. In 1976 the route was restructured to operate between Brent Cross and Hammersmith during the day, although the Colindale workings remained and the service to Brent Cross would be cut back to Cricklewood Garage in the evenings and on Sundays. In 1978 the Collindale workings were extended to Mill Hill Broadway. In 1981 the extra journeys to Mill Hill Broadway were withdrawn and the route became Hammersmith to Brent Cross through most of the week apart from evenings and Sundays where it would still turn short at Cricklewood Garage. In 1995 the Brent Cross extension was made a feature on every day of the week and in 2003 every journey on the route ran to Brent Cross. 

VN37973 seen on the 266 during Tower Transit's operation
© EastLondoner

Despite the 266 has only spent 2 years with Metroline the last time round, what seems like a period which will be quickly forgotten actually has a much longer history. Since introduction in 1962 until an award to First in May 2012 the 266 had always been with Metroline and its predecessors, operating predominantly out of Cricklewood Garage although there were also considerable stints at Willesden (AC) and a former garage in Harlesden which was located on Atlas Road in Harlesden. First funnily enough then won the route in 2012 operating out of a temporary base on Atlas Road (AS) which then moved to Tower Transit when they purchased a part of First's London operations. Metroline won route 266 back in 2017 from their Metroline West division on a short 2 year contract, although for whatever reason they operated it out of Cricklewood (W) once again. Atlas Road (AS) was closed in 2017, just a month before Metroline regained the route. Subsequently RATP moved into the site moving their operation from nearby Park Royal (PK) garage and coded the new site as Park Royal (RP). This new site proved vital for RATP as it allowed them to win the contract to route 266 when that route was up for tender again. 

TE1092 seen entering Hammersmith Bus Station
© EastLondoner

As I mentioned earlier, the set of changes which have recently taken place have resulted in route 266 now being cut back to Acton from Hammersmith, and that has coincided with the new contract that RATP have taken on. RATP have allocated route 266 with a mix of Hybrid and Diesel Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, not much different from the allocation under Metroline which was the same mix. The Hybrids have come from routes 94 and E3 while the diesels were released from the loss of route 81 earlier in the year. 

ADE40422 seen on stand in Acton
© EastLondoner

RATP started operations to route N266 in the early hours of the 7th of December with VH45313 forming the first bus. Shortly afterwards Metroline wrapped up their phase on route 266...again, with TEH1457 forming the last bus into Hammersmith and TE1083 forming the last Metroline 266 into Brent Cross. I didn't have time to go out after the changes on the first day so I headed out the Monday afterwards to take a look at what was going on. Crossrail related cosmetic works have been taking place over the past couple of weeks along Horn Lane which had impacted the route a lot during Metroline's final days with the route being in complete tatters. Since RATP have taken over the route a lot of it has settled down and service has undoubtedly already seen an improvement, however as I mentioned earlier the route also got cut back to Acton High Street which might have had a bigger effect on the service rather than the operator change.

Currently the 266 has been solidly Enviro400 of both the diesel and Hybrid variants, however Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 B5LHs have made appearances on the N266, although sadly I do not have a picture of that to hand. Passengers however still seem to be struggling with the cut back, throughout my journey many passengers boarded the bus thinking it was going Hammersmith despite the driver mentioning many times the 266 doesn't go Hammersmith anymore and passengers needed to get route 218. One lady still didn't budge once the driver reached the last stop and just ended up sitting there while the bus was on stand. If you ignore the bemused passengers, the service and operator change itself seems to have gone pretty smoothly and I am sure RATP will operate the 266 to a decent standard similar to what Metroline provided or maybe even to a better standard. 

ADE40467 seen in Acton displaying its new terminus
© EastLondoner

DLE30333 seen at Hammersmith heading to Fulham
© EastLondoner

The other route to suffer a cut to its routing is route 391 which operated between Fulham, Sands End and Richmond. It's a relatively young route, only starting operation in May 1991 operating out of Stamford Brook garage (V). Initially it ran between Fulham Broadway and Turnham Green Church via Hammersmith and West Kensington. In November of 1991 it was extended from Turnham Green to Richmond. In January 2004 the route was extended from Fulham Broadway to Fulham, Sands End Sainsbury's forming the same route that operated until 6th of December 2019. Along with the route cut, the 391 is getting a double whammy as its frequency is also being reduced to every 15 minutes throughout the day, and down to every 20 minutes on Sundays and evenings. It should be noted that following the cut back to Hammersmith route 391 despite starting and ending its journeys in Hammersmith Upper Bus Station is stands in the lower bus station.

DLE30341 seen on stand at Hammersmith
© EastLondoner

The withdrawn part of the 391 between Fulham, Sands End and Hammersmith is being replaced by route 306 which will then continue along most of the 266's withdrawn section between Hammersmith and Acton Vale. As the cut to the 391 is quite hefty, resulting in a substantial reduction of work on the contract, RATP have been given the route as compensation for their loss of work for the remainder of the 391's contract duration, as a result this route didn't go out for tender. The buses for the route have been made available through routes 18 and 65. Route 18 had a substantial PVR reduction of 9 buses recently while two of the Wright Eclipse Gemini 3s on the 65 have also made their way over to route 306 being replaced by existing Scania Omnicities. RATP have chosen to operate this route out of Stamford Brook (V) which is the same garage the 391 is based at, with it being an ideal location for the route as well as giving the displaced drivers from the reduction on the 391 some alternative work to do. 

VH45159 is seen at Acton Vale
© EastLondoner

The 306 so far has been doing relatively alright, however it has probably been one of the more rocky routes in terms of operation. During the first few days many turns have been evident - most notably Seven Stars Corner. The allocation as planned has been of Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 vehicles, although a few Enviro400 Hybrids have managed to sneak out in the evenings. So far the route has seen decent usage, however it's certainly not to the level route 266 used to have prior. This could probably be put down to the fact route 266 used to continue along Acton High Street while the 306 terminates short at Acton Vale. However I'm sure as time goes on people along Askew Road will learn about the new links that route 306 provides and start using it. The same could be said about the section in Fulham where I'm sure people in the area will soon make use of their new link beyond Hammersmith towards Acton Vale.

VH45162 is seen at Hammersmith Bus Station
© EastLondoner

WV46107 seen at Ravenscourt Park
© EastLondoner

As I said earlier, the 306 doesn't fully replace the withdrawn section of route 266 as the part along Acton High Street was deemed by TfL to have enough capacity that only a single decker route was needed to cover it. Therefore route 218 has also been introduced running between Hammersmith and North Acton. It follows route 266 down Acton High Street, however instead of turning down Horn Lane it continues down Twyford Avenue and then heads past West Acton station before rejoining the 266s line of route at North Acton. Route 440 as a result has been routed directly along Horn Lane to provide the residents along there an extra link. Unlike the 306, TfL had actually ben planning the 218 for a very long time with it even being put out to tender in 2017 before the decision to delay it came along. As a result TfL shortened the 266 contract to allow the 218 to be introduced on tender as opposed to being a more expensive mid-contract change. The winning bid for this route came from Tower Transit out of Westbourne Park (X) garage once again introducing the operator to the Acton and North Acton areas. The buses have come in the form of existing Wright Streetlites made available from routes 444 and 236 at Lea Interchange as well as some existing Ex First Enviro200s which were relieved from their duties at Metroline. 

A crowd waits to board WV46219 at Hammersmith
© EastLondoner

It's probably safe to say that passengers have already become well accustom to route 218. Unlike route 306, it uses the full length of Acton High Street and also connects with the now truncated route 266 offering the displaced 266 passengers from Hammersmith a direct alternative which connects with the 266 so they can carry on their journeys that they used to make while route 266 still went Hammersmith. Unfortunately the decision to make the 218 a single decker route seems to have been a wrong decision. There were already multiple reports of overcrowding buses during the weekend of the changes and I myself saw really crowded buses on the route leaving Hammersmith.  After the route meets up with the 266 at Acton High Street route 218 heads to North Acton like how route 440 used to, running via West Acton. Route 440 was instead rerouted directly via Horn Lane and extended to Wembley - however that's for another post!

The operation of the route also hasn't been off to the best start with many gaps in the service evident, coupled together with the crowds it's certainly not a route I'd rush out to ride. However I'm sure Tower Transit will get used to the challenge the route presents over time and will provide a good service on the route for at least the next 5, or maybe even 7 years! Although I just wish that something is done about the crowding before then.

DML44187 seen on stand at Hammersmith
© EastLondoner

These changes have no doubt been a mixed bag, many new links have been created many long established links have been removed. It's still too early to say whether the change is going to be a success, especially seeing once the Elizabeth Line opens it will have a change on travel patterns in the area. But for now it's probably safe to say everything is just about managing for now!