It's rare that a route is the centre of attention as soon as a year after it last got some attention, however that's exactly what recently happened with the 306 which runs between Acton Vale and Fulham, Sands End Sainsburys.
If you remember back a year ago, I wrote a post on some changes that took place in the Hammersmith and Acton areas where a couple of new routes were introduced in replacement for ones that had been cut back, one of these routes was route 306 which was introduced as a replacement for the lost sections of route 266 and 391. Now while route 266 has managed alright since it was cut back, route 391 hasn't been managing so well ever since it was shortened and TfL have made further changes to the route in the form of a merger with route 110. At the same time, route 306 has also been tendered on a brand new 5 year contract with potential for a 2 year extension and Metroline came out victorious for that route.
Usually with routes that change operator I give you a bit of background to the route, talking about its history and how it evolved over time. However with the 306 only being a year old there isn't much to talk about, the most I can do is point you in the direction of
this post where I covered the introduction of the route. It might be a bit weird, a route changing operator a year after it was introduced although I assure you there's a really good reason for that. Route 306's introduction resulted in a hefty cut to the 391 last year, and the cut was big enough to a point RATP would require some compensation. Therefore TfL decided to split the 391 contract into two and hence RATP took over the 306 under the terms of the old 391 contract, but as a result the new 306 shared the same contract end date as the 391 which happens to have been this December when both 306 and 391 were put up for tender.
As I already mentioned, Metroline were the winners of the route with RATP unable to retain the route when it was put out for tender. When the route was awarded it was mysteriously awarded with its bus type "To be confirmed" which led to speculation about what the route would end up using. Eventually it was confirmed that the buses that would operate the route were actually the buses that were previously allocated to route 212 under Tower Transit operation (VH38101-VH38111), these were coded VWH2697-VWH2702. Prior to their entry into service they were given a refurbishment and temporarily put to work at Uxbridge (UX) as school extras before making their way down to Brentford (AH) where route 306 was planned to operate out of.
My ability to go out and cover the 306 change was put short by two separate lockdowns due to the Covid pandemic, so by the time I managed to cover the 306 it was April by which point Metroline have been operating the route for 5 months. I went out on the 5th of April, a couple of days after non-essential travel was allowed once again. Having rode the 306 from Acton Vale to Hammersmith last time I covered the route, this time I opted to cover the route from Hammersmith Bus Station to Sands End Sainsburys. While I was waiting for the bus I did see VWH2705 pass me heading towards Acton Vale which is illustrated in the picture on the right. Shortly after that bus passed my ride arrived in the form of VWH2707, which was one of the 15reg examples on the route. The 306 leaving Hammersmith follows the previous 391 route heading through Kensington Olympia and then through Fulham Broadway before reaching Sands End Sainsburys via Imperial Wharf station.
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| The interior remains largely unchanged |
The buses themselves aren't too different as to how they were found on the 212, even going so far as to still having the same moquette design, although new upholstery was put in during the refurbishment process, probably a decision by Metroline as their blue moquette would have probably clashed internally with the green theme of Tower Transit's old interior. So far on this route, service seems to have been provided to an acceptable standard. Although currently roadworks taking place at Fulham are affecting the route, although from my experience today I didn't find any major issues. My bus came at the correct time, and when I took a look on LVF the route was certainly coping a lot better than some other routes in the area were.
Since its introduction in 2019, the route seems to be a tale of two halves. Its terminal point of Acton Vale has proved to be quite controversial. Route 266 that it replaced along that section would often pick up passengers from Acton High Street, but as the 306 only starts at Acton Vale single decker route 218 has to bear the brunt of the work here. But then the other half, from Hammersmith to Fulham has no doubt thrived under the presence of double deckers, my journey today had healthy loads despite were were just starting to come out of a lockdown, you can tell that the extra deck the 306 carries as opposed to the previously single deck 391 is very much appreciated among the locals. As for the new link beyond Hammersmith to Acton, it is yet to be seen how well that has taken off. When I boarded the bus today at Hammersmith a large number of people alighted before a decent number of people boarded, suggesting that this route is effectively two routes operating as one. Although now that lockdown is over, we will be able to see if people are starting to warm up to the new link beyond Hammersmith.
All that's left to say now is that hopefully Metroline keep up the standard they have shown so far on the 306 for the next 5, or maybe 7 years!
I know lately the blog has been quiet, the lockdown has meant we have been unable to travel outside and cover the latest changes. But now it's been lifted rest assured we will try out best to cover most of the changes we missed and to cover the ones in line next. In the meantime remember to keep up with all the latest changes on the London Bus Scene on the tenders page. Also take a look at our Twitter feed to keep up with the latest news on the bus scene.
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