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Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands. It is the largest bus operator in London, operating a total of 115 bus routes contracted to Transport for London.

History

The Go-Ahead Group is a large transport group based in Newcastle. It first became involved in London bus operations in September 1994, where upon the privatisation of London Buses Limited, it acquired former LBL subsidiary London Central. Just under two years later, in May 1996, it added another former LBL subsidiary, London General, which had initially been part of a management buyout. These two companies subsequently developed in much the same way, both establishing a livery of red with a charcoal skirt and yellow relief band, and splitting orders for new buses.

Further expansion did not occur until September 2006, when London General, on behalf of Go-Ahead, purchased Docklands Buses. Then, on 29 June 2007, the group acquired the bus operating part of Blue Triangle. With these purchases, Go-Ahead surpassed Arriva London to become the largest operator of buses in London, running around 16% of London bus services.

A corporate image for Go-Ahead's London bus services started to appear in August 2008, when a new "Go-Ahead London" logo was unveiled; subsequent new buses carry new style fleetnames incorporating this logo.

In 2009, Transport for London (TfL) invited bids for the sale of their own bus operations which ran under the East Thames Buses (ETB) brand. Go-Ahead London were selected as the preferred bidder and assumed full responsibility for ETB, their 10 routes and 2 depots, in October 2009. The ETB brand was discontinued and was replaced with the Go-Ahead London brand. The ETB operations were initially absorbed under the London General arm of Go-Ahead's London business. However, after some route movements and allocation changes some of the services now run under the London Central arm.

Current companies

The current subsidiaries of Go-Ahead London are, in order of acquisition:

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London Central

File:London Central logo.png
A London Central bus on route 171 at Waterloo Station.
Parent	Go-Ahead Group
Headquarters	Merton
Locale	South London
Service area	United Kingdom
Service type	Bus
Routes	49
Hubs	Bexleyheath Camberwell New Cross Peckham
Fleet	Alexander Dennis Enviro400 Dennis Dart SLF Mercedes-Benz Citaro G Volvo B7TL Volvo Olympian DAF SB120 Volvo B9TL Scania OmniTown
Operator	Go-Ahead London
Website	http://www.londoncentral.com/

London Central is one of many operators of London Buses. It was established in late 1988 as one of 12 operating subsidiaries of London Buses Limited (LBL), and was privatised to the Go-Ahead Group in September 1994. It operates four bus garages in Bexleyheath, Camberwell, New Cross and Peckham.

In August 2008, Go-Ahead's London operations took up the new trading name of Go-Ahead London.

Garages

Bexleyheath (BX)

As of November 2009, the Bexleyheath garage (BX) holds 150 buses, and runs London bus routes 89, 132, 229, 321, 401, 422, 486, 661, 669, B11, B16 and night routes N21 and N89.

Built as a trolleybus depot by the London Passenger Transport Board, this is the only new garage built for trolleybuses. The depot is a large and imposing building, slightly set back from the main road to enable parking on the forecourt, which was used as a terminus for route 122. Bexleyheath closed in 1986, with work moved to Plumstead, Catford, and Sidcup garages, although it re-opened in 1988 under the guise of Bexleybus, a unit set up by London Buses under de-regulation, and had a large and varied allocation from Iveco/Robin Hood's & MCW Metroriders to NC Olympians & Fleetlines. the move to set up the new company to tender for routes backfired, and in the next round of tendering only the B16 was awarded to Bexleybus, whilst London Central won nine. London Central took control of the Bexleyheath routes (including B16) from 1990 instead of 1991 and also took over the garage from Stagecoach London. Lately the garage has had a good utilisation figure, up to 139 in 2001 which necessitated parking in the rear yard and the forecourt. In January 2007, the garage received its first Alexander Dennis Enviro400s for use on route 486.

Route 132 was transferred to London Central's Bexleyheath garage from London General on 7 November 2009. The 132 was Operated by East Thames Buses which was owned by TFL. TFL sold East Thames to Go-Ahead in October 2009 together with its entire service fleet. The 132's allocation of DW & DWL's moved to BX from BV (Belvedere Depot) when the route was transferred over from BV.

On 1 May 2010, routes 321 (part of its allocation), 661 and 669 was moved to this garage.

Bus types in use

• Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m/Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP) for route 132.
• Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 1 (Trainer, NV)
• Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 2 (NV) for Commercial work, Private Hire and Rail Replacements.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/Plaxton President (PVL/VP) for routes 89, 321, 401, 661, 669 and N89.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 10.1m (E) for routes 486 and N21. To be introduced on routes 89, 651 and N89 from January 2012.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200Dart 10.2m (SE) for routes B11 and B16.
• Volvo B9TL 10.4m /Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 (WVL) for routes 229 and 422.
• VDL SB120 10.8m/Wright Merit (DWL) for route 132.
• VDL SB120 9.4m/Wright Cadet (DW) for route 132.

Camberwell (Q)

As of January 2008, the Camberwell garage holds 217 buses, and runs 42, 45, 68, 185, 360, 468, P5, 24-hour route 12, express route X68, and night route N68.

Although built in 1914, Camberwell garage was not used as a bus garage until 1919 as it had been requisitioned for the war effort. Once it came into use it was one of Londons biggest garages and also carried out body overhauls in 1940-1941. The garage was bombed during WW2 in 1940 which resulted in 4 buses being destroyed and a further 13 seriously damaged. During the early 1950s the garage underwent modernisation with the welfare & operational block reconstructed and the parking area extended. The new building also incorporated a new pit and workshop layout in a separate self contained block which also undertook heavy maintenance for Walworth Garage, 350 buses in all. The allocation at Q decreased slightly over the years from 165 in 1952 until the closure of Walworth in 1985 increased the allocation to 142. Camberwell was also the home of the three Titans fitted with electronic blinds which were used on the night bus standby duties.

On 1 May 2010, routes 42 and 185 was transferred to this garage.

Bus types in use

• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 10.1m (E) for routes 12 to be introduced on November 2011.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200Dart 9.4m (SE) for route P5 and 360.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/ Plaxton President (PVL/VP) for route 45 and 185.
• Scania OmniTown 10.7m/East Lancs Myllennium (ELS) for route 42.
• Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m/ Plaxton Pointer 1 (LDP) for route 360.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/ Wright Eclipse Gemini (WVL) for routes 68, 468, X68 and N68.
• Volvo B7TL 10.6m/ Wright Eclipse Gemini (VWL) for route 185.
• Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro (articulated) (MAL) for route 12.
• Wright Electrocity 10.1m (WHY) for route 360.

New Cross (NX)

As of November 2006, the New Cross garage holds 149 buses, and runs London bus routes 21, 171, 225, 436, , school route 621, 24-hour route 36, 108 and 321, and night routes N21 and N171.

Said to be the largest of London's bus garages with space for over 300 buses the garage was originally a tram depot and opened in 1906. In 1952 with the trams withdrawn, the depot was converted into a bus garage. The garage has never been even close to its capacity due to the close proximity of other garages, but has at various times been used to store surplus vehicles. The garage allocation has fluctuated over the years, from 191 in 1966 to 132 in 2001. The garage also houses some of the private hire fleet which is painted in the style of the former London General company. New cross was also the garage for two special services, first in 1972 when it operated en ex-Tilling ST on route 100 and the DAF SB220/East Lancs Myllennium LPG powered buses for the Millennium Dome services M1 & M2. In 2003 the garage also began operating Mercedes-Benz articulated buses on route 436. On 10 October route 321 had converted into a 24-hour service.

On 1 May 2010, route 108 was moved to this garage.

Bus types in use

• Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m/Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP) for routes 108 and 225.
• Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro (articulated) (MAL) for route 436.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/Plaxton President (PVL) for routes 36, 108 (evening only), 321 and 621.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 10.1m (E) for route 36. To be introduced on routes 436 and 453 from 3 November 2011.
• Volvo B9TL 10.4m /Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 (WVL) for routes 21, 171, N21 and N171.
• DAF SB120 10.8m/Wright Merit (DWL) for routes 108.
• Volvo B5L Hybrid / Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 To be introduced on route 453 from 3 November 2011.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400H hybrid 10.1m (EH) To be introduced on route 436 from 3 November 2011.

Peckham (PM)

As of November 2006, the Peckham garage holds 66 buses, and runs London bus routes 36 (nights) , 63, 363, P12, 24-hour route 37 and night route N63.

The new Peckham garage was converted from a local authority maintenance depot and opened in 1994 with a capacity for 75 buses. In 2000 the garage put London's first Volvo B7TL 10m/Alexander ALX400 low-floor vehicles into service on route 63 alongside NC Palatines and Plaxton Pointers. Peckham Garage won bus garage of the year in 2004, although this turned out to be a poisoned chalice for the garage, losing almost half of its work in the next year's tender awards.

Bus types in use

• Volvo B7TL 10m/Plaxton President (PVL) for routes 36 and 363.
• Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer (LDP)
• Dennis Dart SLF 9.4m/Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP) for route P12.
• Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 1/2 (NV, Training buses)
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 10.1m (E) for routes 37.
• Volvo B9TL 10.4m /Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 (WVL) for routes 63 and N63.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.8m (SE) to be introduced on route P12 from October 2011.

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London General

A Leyland National as used in London with London General
Parent	Go-Ahead Group
Founded	1988
Service area	Greater London
Service type	Bus
Routes	63
Operator	Go-Ahead London

London General is a modern bus operating company. It is now owned by the Go-Ahead Group and operates buses under contract to London Buses. The company was named in honour of the London General Omnibus Company, the principal operator of buses in London between 1855 and 1933.

History

The modern-day London General was established in late 1988 as one of 12 operating subsidiaries of London Buses Limited, its original logo being an omnibus in reflection of the name's history. With the privatisation of LBL in 1994, the company was originally subject to a management buy-out, before being acquired by the Go-Ahead Group in May 1996.

The company has recently moved its offices to an address in Merton, adjacent to the Merton bus garage. Prior to this they were in Mitcham.

In August 2008, Go-Ahead's London bus operations took up the new trading name of Go-Ahead London.

On 29 July 2009, Transport for London announced that East Thames Buses would be sold to London General, part of Go-Ahead London. The sale of East Thames Buses was for around £5m, which includes all assets. Although it is normal practice in London to tender for additional routes, London General will also begin a new five year contract for all East Thames Buses routes without the tendering process. The sale was completed on 3 October 2009. They operate a contract with Coulsdon College in south London to provide a school-bus service between West Croydon and the college.

Garages

The company has nine bus garages in Merton, Putney, Stockwell, Sutton, Waterloo, Waterside Way, Mandela Way and Belvedere.

Merton (AL)

The Merton garage holds 133 buses, and runs London bus routes 44, 77, 118, 155, 163, 164 (Monday to Saturday), 200, 201, 219, 270, 280, 355, 655, the first few outbound journeys on Night Bus route N155 and LSP route 668. It also operates some duties on route 22 on Sundays.

Merton was for many years the largest of the LGOC's garages, and continued to boast high allocations in the early days of London Transport, including 222 STL-class AEC Regents in 1935, and all of the first 181 D-class utility Daimlers in 1950.

The garage was modernised in 1960, and again in 1991 when a new roof was fitted and various stores and welfare areas were moved to provide a larger, unobstructed parking area, which had previously been renowned for being long and narrow. Some buses were parked at a yard in nearby Colliers Wood during the rebuilding project. Over recent years, the allocation total has fluctuated between 83 and 134, never really coming close to the garage's original high capacity. Merton was also responsible for the maintenance of vehicles for route 200 in 1988/9 after the withdrawal of the Cityrama sightseeing company, whilst the route was operated from Sutton garage.

The garage has recently become Go-Ahead London's head office, following the sale of Raleigh House (Mitcham) and the acquisition of the former pub next door. From March 2012 it will make room for route 493 with 17 new *Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (DE).

Bus types in use

• Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m/Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP) for routes 201, 219 and 355.
• Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 1/2 for route 668.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/Plaxton President (PVL) for routes 22, 44, 77, 155, 200, 270, 280 and 655.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 10.1m (E) for route 118.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.2m (SE) for route 200.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.2m / Optare Esteem (SOE) for routes 163 and 164.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 9.9m / Optare Olympus (DOE) for route 163.
• VDL SB120 9.2m/Wright Merit (DW) for route 201.
• Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m / Plaxton Pointer 1 (LDP) for route 201.
• Volvo B7TL 10m / Wright Eclipse Gemini (WVL) for routes 44, 77, 155, 163, 270, 280 and 655.

Putney (AF)

The Putney garage holds 108 buses, and runs London bus routes 22, 74, 424, 430, 670, 24-hour routes 14 and 85, and Night routes N22 and N74.

With its ancestry going back to the horse bus days of the 1880s, Chelverton Road Garage was converted to a motor-bus garage in 1912. The garage is well hidden in a side road with a modest frontage, yet it has an allocation of 112. It has been modernised twice, firstly in 1935 and then again in 1985. The garage was well known for being allocated the pre-war RTs in 1940 which displaced the STLs. During the war the garage was underutilised and was used to store de-licensed buses. Re-named to Putney in 1963 after the closure of Putney Bridge garage (F) it started to receive RMs and later RMLs for its central London routes. The RMLs remained at the garages until July 2005 when both the 14 and 22 were converted to low floor one-person-operated buses.

Bus types in use

• Dennis Dart SLF 8.8m /Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP) for route 424.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/Wright Eclipse Gemini (WVL) for routes 14, 22, 74, 85, 430, 670, N22 and N74.
• Volvo B9TL 10.4m/Enviro 400 (VE) route 85.

Stockwell (SW)

The Stockwell garage holds 161 buses, and runs London bus routes 11, 87, 170, 196, 315, 333, 639, 670 (AM journey), 24-hour routes 24, 88 and 345, and Night route N11, N44, and N87.

Opened in 1952 after nearly 4 years of planning and building with many materials short of supply and problems re-housing residents of the houses that stood on the site. Stockwell garage is a listed building, and when built was a masterpiece of architectural design incorporating a new roof structure that did not need supports which enabled for a 73,350-square-foot (6,814 m) unobstructed parking space. The offices and workshops are on the edges of the garage but do not take up any of the parking space. In the first few days of operation the garage ran just 11 buses on route 178 which had moved from Rye Lane (Peckham), but then gained more work from the next stage of the tram replacement program for which it had been designed for, but it was still well short of capacity. More work arrived in late 1953 and early 1954 when routes 77 and 77A (now 87) moved from Victoria garage due to recruitment problems, and the closure of Nunhead which increased the PVR to 110 buses. In the early 1970s the Round London Sightseeing Tours moved to Stockwell. In 1984 Stockwell was chosen to conduct comparative testing on route 170, consisting of MCW Metrobuses, Leyland Titans, Leyland Olympians, Dennis Dominators, and Volvo Ailsas. The allocation steadied at around 120 for many years, but has increased in the last few years, partially due to taking back full control of route 11 from RA.

From May 2011, London General has successfully gained the contract of route 337 and will be operating it from this garage.

Bus types in use

• Dennis Dart SLF 10.8m/Alexander Dennis Pointer 2 (DP) for route 170.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.8m (SE) for route 170.
• Dennis Dart SLF 8.8m/Alexander Dennis Pointer 2 (LDP) for routes 315.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/East Lancs Myllennium Vyking (EVL) for routes 87 and 88.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/Plaxton President (PVL) for routes 87 and 88.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/Wright Eclipse Gemini (WVL) for routes 11, 87, 333, 639, 670, N11, N44 and N87.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 10.1m (E) for routes 24, 88, 196 and 345. Route 337 to be introduced on May 2011.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400H hybrid 10.1m (EH) for route 24.
• Wright Gemini 2 DL 10.4m (WDL) for route 88.
• Wright Pulsar Gemini HEV (WHD) for route 24.

Sutton (A)

The Sutton garage holds 79 buses, and runs London bus routes 80, 151, 154, 164 on Sundays, 413, 24-hour routes 93 and 213, and Night route N155. They also run LSP routes Tesco New Malden and Sutton services, 866.

It did run a another night bus the N213 between Kingston and Sutton on the 213 then on most of the 154 route to Croydon, but was cancelled by tfl clamming it was not used. So they made the 213 a 24 hour service which was not good enough to help the people living in between Sutton and Croydon in Carshalton and Wallington. There has been a few protests by local people to bring the bus back saying it was used a lot for people communing back from clubbing and people getting to work early in the morning. Local people still want the bus back as this is causing people to walk home or pay for an over priced cab at night. tfl has not realised the problems its caused with people living between Sutton and Croydon. It was a good idea for a night bus the route but was very sadly axed in July 2009. Local people would like to see something done but only half of the route is running which is not good enough for people between Sutton and Croydon.

Opened by the LGOC in January 1924 at cost of £30,000, Sutton bus garage had a capacity for 100 buses. During its early years, less than half of the garage was put to use, holding only 40 buses by 1926. This would change somewhat by the extension of the Underground to Morden and major house-building projects in the area. Between 1945 and 1953, it had an allocation of exactly 100 Utility Daimlers (classed as D's) numbered from D182 - D281. By 1952, the garage had a PVR of 128, achieved mainly by parking buses in surrounding streets. However this would soon fall again, to 100 in 1966, 82 in 1976 and 62 in 1987. The garage was passed over to the re-born 'London General' bus company in the run-up to privatization in 1985. Sutton Garage also partly took control of route 200 at a yard in Colliers Wood (AA) in 1989, after Cityrama withdrew from their contract. Sutton was responsible for providing drivers for the service, whilst Merton Garage were contracted to do the maintenance. By 1994, the garage PVR had grown to 85 and again to 92 in 2001, including 10 buses subcontracted to Surrey County Council.

Sutton also helped when Carshalton closed in 1964.

Bus types in use

• Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m/Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP) for route 164, 413 and 866.
• Volvo B7TL 10m Plaxton President (PVL) for route 213, also for Surrey routes and contract hire.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 10.1m (E) for route 213.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 9.9m /Optare Olympus (DOE) for routes 93, 151, 154 and N155.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.2m / Optare Esteem (SOE) for route 80 and 164.
• Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine II (NV) for route 866 and special hire and events.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.8m (SE) to be introduced on route 413 from September 2011.

Waterloo (RA)

The Waterloo garage holds 36 Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses for use on Red Arrow buses 507 and 521. The garage was opened as a bus garage in the early 1980s and was used as a Red Arrow garage and had the 11's as RML in 1990s. The garage is only operated Monday to Friday due to its proximity to residential properties.

Bus types in use

• Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro 12m (MEC) for route 507 and 521.

Waterside Way (PL)

The Waterside Way garage runs London bus routes 39, 485 and G1. And also a storage of the training buses.

Bus types in use

• Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m / Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP) for route 39 and 485.
• Dennis Dart SLF 8.8m / Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP) for route G1.

Mandela Way (MW)

The Mandela Way garage runs London bus routes 1, 453, 507, 521 and N1.

Bus types in use

• Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro articulated (MAL) for route 453.
• Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro 12m (MEC) for routes 507 and 521.
• Volvo B7TL 10.6m/Wright Eclipse Gemini (VWL) for route 1 and N1.

Belvedere (BV)

The Belvedere garage holds 14 buses, and runs London bus routes 180, 244, 669 and Night route N1.

Belvedere was purchased by Harris Bus in 1998 to house its operations that moved from Crayford. Harris Bus went into receivership in 2000, and its routes and garage were taken over by London Buses under the guise of East Thames Buses. Since then, East Thames Buses has become a unit taking over routes from defunct operators such as London Easylink's 42 & 185. Following the move to Mandela Way the engineering is now done there, however limited engineering facilities exist at Belvedere.

East Thames buses was sold to Go-Ahead London (London General) in October 2009. As a result of the purchase by Go-ahead some route and allocation movements have taken or are due to take place. On 7 November 2009 route 132 transferred to Nearby Bexleyheath Garage (BX) and its contract placed with London Central. On 1st May 2010 route 108 transfrred to New Cross garage, 185 to Camberwell garage and 661 and part of 669 to Bexleyheath garage.

Even Though Belvedere is a London General Garage it now operates as a satellite of London Central's Bexleyheath Garage (BX). All BV's Engineering and fleet management is done at or organised by BX, in addition BV's staff and Operational Management is also undertaken by BX.

On 22 January 2011, route 244 was transferred to this garage, with a fleet of 15 new Enviro 200 Dart's (SE class), the 244 was previously run from BX.

Bus Types in use

• Volvo B7TL 10.6m/Wright Eclipse Gemini (VWL) for routes 180 and N1.
• Volvo B7TL 10m / Plaxton President (VP) for route 669.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart (SE) 10.2m for route 244.

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Docklands Buses

Parent	Go-Ahead Group
Founded	Various
Service area	Greater London
Service type	Bus
Routes	6
Operator	Go-Ahead London

Docklands Buses is one of many bus companies operating contracted services on behalf of London Buses.

History

The company was formed by Transit Holdings in 1993 as 'Docklands Transit'. It initially operated local commercial routes using minibuses, but these proved not to be viable so it switched to operating tendered services. Stagecoach purchased the bus side of the company in 1997, and Docklands Transit continuted operating private hire vehicles. In 2002, they won the contract to operate ex-Arriva route London Buses route 167, soon winning other contracts after.

In September 2006 the company was purchased by London General, a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. As part of the Go-Ahead Group, their head office is based in Merton and they operate one bus garage in Silvertown (SI) which holds 38 buses. In August 2008 a new trading name for Go-Ahead's London operations was created, called Go-Ahead London.

Routes

Bus types in use

• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.2m / MCV Evolution (ED) for routes 167 and 549.
• Dennis Dart SLF 9.4m / MCV Evolution (ED) for route W19.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.2m (SE) for route 300.
• Volvo B9TL 10.4m / Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 for route 474.
• Volvo B7TL 10m/Plaxton President (PVL) for route 150, 425 and 673.
• Scania OmniDekka 10.6m (SO) for route 474 and N551.
• Scania OmniCity 10.6m (SOC) for route 425.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro400 10.1m (E) To be introduced on route D7 from September 2011.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.8m (SE) To be introduced on routes 276, 376, D6 and D8 from September 2011.

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Blue Triangle

A Dennis Trident 2 of Blue Triangle on route 66 at Leytonstone prior to the takeover by Go-Ahead Group.
Service area	Greater London
Service type	Bus
Routes	10 9 (by 26th March 2011) 2 (non-London Buses)
Fleet	Dennis Dart SLF Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart Volvo B7TL Volvo B9TL
Operator	Go-Ahead Group
Website

Blue Triangle is one of many operators of London Buses, it is based in Rainham and is part of Go-Ahead London. It is the operator of the East London Transit service.

History

Blue Triangle have existed since at least the late 80s/early 90s operating Essex route 500 on evenings on Sundays in the early days of deregulation.

Blue Triangle have long been known for their rail replacement services and also assisting London Buses when other companies gave up routes early, or in the case of London Easylink in 2002, folded completely. The yard is at Denver Industrial Estate, Ferry Lane, Rainham.

On June 29, 2007, the company was acquired by the Go-Ahead Group, for a total sum of £12 million. Go-Ahead has not bought the special vehicles, all heritage vehicles have remained the property of the former managing director, Roger Wright.

In August 2008 a new trading name for Go-Ahead's London operations was created: Go-Ahead London.

Garages

They have 1 garage in Rainham which holds approximately 77 buses.

It has depot code BE.

Fleet information

Service vehicles

• Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 2 10.2m/10.8m (DP) for route 648.
• Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.8m (SE) for routes 347, 362 and 364.
• Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President 10m (PVL) for routes 649, 650, 651, 674, and Essex routes 575 and 804.
• Volvo B9TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 10.4m (WVL) for routes EL1 and EL2.

Special vehicles

The company also owned a number of special vehicles including an ex-Green Line RMC, RMs and RT's for use on Private Hire duties. One of the these RTs ran a special marking the end of Blue Triangle's assistance on route 185. All these vehicles remain in the hands of the former owner Roger Wright's London Bus Company along with the private hire operation.

Routes

Previous routes operated

• Blue Triangle operated Essex route 500 (Romford to Harlow via Epping) in the late 80s/early 90s in the early days of deregulation. They operated the route on evenings and Sundays under contract to Essex County Council.

• Route 565 (Brentwood to Bulphan) was once operated by Blue Triangle. They also operated the route when it went from Brentwood on to Romford.

• Essex CC route 11 (Purfleet to Basildon) was lost to Clintona Minicoaches in January 2009

• Essex CC routes 8B/8C, 101 and 256 were lost to First in August 2010

• Blue Triangle was the last operator to operate route 502 (Loughton to Romford) a few years ago. It was a Saturday service with only 1 return journey.

• Route 372 (Lakeside - Hornchurch) was won on a temporary contract as part replacement for route 324 which ran between Romford market & Bluewater Shopping Complex, Blue Triangle was awarded the temporary contract using four Dennis Darts with Plaxton Pointer bodywork with single door, these were obtained from dealer stock. In March 2004, Blue triangle retained the contract for another five years but the buses had to be converted to dual doors like most TfL bus routes, but this never happen. Blue Triangle lost this route to East London Bus Group new company 'Thameside' which are based next door at Rainham.

• Route 248 (Cranham - Romford Market) route was won in 2001 from First Capital and had to start using Titans & Metrobuses due to late delivery of new buses for the route. in September 2008, the route was lost on tendering to East London Bus Group company 'Thameside'.

• Route 375 (Passingford Bridge - Romford Station) was won on a temporary contract as a part replacement to Essex County Council route 500, which was withdrawn between Ongar & Romford, TfL stepped in with this replacement service using just one bus. The route was put out for tender and was lost to Arriva Southern Counties at their Grays base from Saturday 4 July 2009.

• Route 66 (Leytonstone - Romford Station) was won in September 2003 from Arriva London, the contract started using hired buses due to the late deliver of new buses from Transbus. In September 2010, the route was up for tender and lost to Arriva Southern Counties at Grays.

• Route 368 (Chadwell Heath - Harts Lane Estate) was transferred to Blue Triangle from Dockland Buses on 3 November 2007, using existing MCV Evolutions. On 26 March 2011 This route was up for tender and lost to First Capital.

See also

• Metrobus - A bus company also owned by Go-Ahead, running services south of London as well as in Surrey and Sussex.
• List of bus operators of the United Kingdom

References

1. Go-Ahead London - About us Accessed 13 August 2008.
2. Go-Ahead Group - London Central and London General Accessed 13 August 2008.
3. Go-Ahead London - Homepage Accessed 13 August 2008.
4. Post image - Picture of a new style fleetname Accessed 13 August 2008.
5. Fotopic - Picture of a bus with new style fleetnames Accessed 13 August 2008.
6. McLachlan, Tom (1995). London Buses 1985-1995: Managing The Change. Venture Publications. p. 73. ISBN 1898432740.
7. The Go Ahead Group-London Central and London General accessed: 17 July 2008
8. About Us | Go-Ahead London

External links

• Go-Ahead London website

v t e Bus operators in London
London	Arriva Arriva Herts & Essex Arriva London Arriva Southern Counties Big Bus Tours Go-Ahead London Blue Triangle Docklands Buses London Central London General Golden Tours Hotel Hoppa Metroline RATP Dev Transit London London Sovereign London Transit London United RATP Group Tootbus London Redwing Coaches Stagecoach London East London Selkent Thameside Sullivan Buses Transport UK London Bus Uno
National	FlixBus Megabus National Express
London transport portal

v t e Bus operators in London
London	Arriva Arriva Herts & Essex Arriva London Arriva Southern Counties Big Bus Tours Go-Ahead London Blue Triangle Docklands Buses London Central London General Golden Tours Hotel Hoppa Metroline RATP Dev Transit London London Sovereign London Transit London United RATP Group Tootbus London Redwing Coaches Stagecoach London East London Selkent Thameside Sullivan Buses Transport UK London Bus Uno
National	FlixBus Megabus National Express
London transport portal

• Articles lacking sources from February 2007
• Articles needing cleanup from May 2007
• Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from May 2007
• Misplaced Pages pages needing cleanup from May 2007
• London bus operators
• Go-Ahead Group London bus operators