Ash Grove Bus Garage
Encyclopedia
Ash Grove Bus Garage is a bus garage in Hackney
, east London. It is located on the A107 Mare Street
, where it crosses the Regent's Canal
. The depot is occupied by two companies, CT Plus and Arriva London
, and holds around 30 buses. Opened in 1981 by London Buses
, it was closed in 1991 following the abandonment of the London Forest
subsidiary, but reopened in 1994 by Kentish Bus. East Thames Buses
have also used the site.
at a cost of £
3.5 million. It had space for 140 buses undercover and a further 30 in the yard. The roof was unusual in being carried by ten 35-ton triangular trusses, said to be the largest in the UK, supported on reinforced concrete columns. The garage assumed Hackney's operation of Red Arrow
routes 502 and 513 using new Leyland National
s which had been stored at the garage, and the entire Hackney and Dalston allocations. When London Buses was split into eleven separate companies Ash Grove became part of the London Forest
operation, but closed in 1991 when London Forest was wound up.
area, including former Boro'line
route 108
, although they referred to the garage as Cambridge Heath.
Ash Grove was also used at various times to house stored vehicles for the London Transport Museum.
which took over the former Harris Bus
routes after that company ran into financial difficulties. Although East Thames Buses have now moved to new premises at Mandela Way, CT Plus moved into the garage yard to house its routes won in the London area. CT Plus use the garage to stabe vehicles for routes 153, 212
, 385, 388, 394
, 812
, W12, W13 and 675.
Arriva London
used the depot as the base for their new Citaro articulated buses for route 38
following the conversion from Routemaster
s in November 2005. This has ended following the route's conversion back to double-deck operation, but routes 78
and 168 have been transferred to operate from the garage.
area on the basis of very low prices. This led to the company proposing a pay cut of around 18% to all staff, which saw staff at all of its four garages strike. Following these events the company was wound up and the garage closed.
In June 2008 forty CT Plus employees based at the garage protested against the dismissal of a shop steward who had refused to drive a bus with a health and safety defect. October 2010 saw strike action by CT Plus workers in a dispute over pay, although most services were not disrupted significantly.
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, east London. It is located on the A107 Mare Street
A107 road
The A107 is an A road in London, England. It runs from Whitechapel to Hackney.Known as Mare Street for much of its length, it crosses the Regent's Canal near the Ash Grove Bus Garage....
, where it crosses the Regent's Canal
Regent's Canal
Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....
. The depot is occupied by two companies, CT Plus and Arriva London
Arriva London
Arriva London is a division of Arriva which operates bus services in London, UK. It is made up of many previous bus operators including previously independent Grey Green...
, and holds around 30 buses. Opened in 1981 by London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
, it was closed in 1991 following the abandonment of the London Forest
London Forest
London Forest was a subsidiary of London Buses active between 1988 and 1991. Formed as one of the eleven operating divisions of London Buses in readiness for privatisation, the company initially operated from garages at Ash Grove, Walthamstow and Leyton on a network of routes in North-East London...
subsidiary, but reopened in 1994 by Kentish Bus. East Thames Buses
East Thames Buses
East Thames Buses was the only government owned bus operator of London Buses. It was sold to London General in 2009.-History:East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failed Harris Bus Company...
have also used the site.
History
Ash Grove is one of three new garages opened in 1981 by London BusesLondon Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
at a cost of £
Pound (currency)
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
3.5 million. It had space for 140 buses undercover and a further 30 in the yard. The roof was unusual in being carried by ten 35-ton triangular trusses, said to be the largest in the UK, supported on reinforced concrete columns. The garage assumed Hackney's operation of Red Arrow
Red Arrow (bus)
Red Arrow was branding given to two current and several former London bus limited stop routes used as high frequency commuter services in central London...
routes 502 and 513 using new Leyland National
Leyland National
The Leyland National is a British single-deck bus built in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industries - the National Bus Company and British Leyland. Buses were constructed at a specially built factory at the Lillyhall...
s which had been stored at the garage, and the entire Hackney and Dalston allocations. When London Buses was split into eleven separate companies Ash Grove became part of the London Forest
London Forest
London Forest was a subsidiary of London Buses active between 1988 and 1991. Formed as one of the eleven operating divisions of London Buses in readiness for privatisation, the company initially operated from garages at Ash Grove, Walthamstow and Leyton on a network of routes in North-East London...
operation, but closed in 1991 when London Forest was wound up.
1990s
The garage was re-opened in 1994 by Kentish Bus. This came about after then gained a small number of routes in the LeytonLeyton
Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....
area, including former Boro'line
Boro'line (London)
Boro'line describes the London operations of the former municipal bus company Boro'line Maidstone. Boro'line Maidstone was the arms length bus company of Maidstone Borough Council...
route 108
London Buses route 108
London Buses route 108 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.The 108 is considered to be one of London's most difficult routes to operate...
, although they referred to the garage as Cambridge Heath.
Ash Grove was also used at various times to house stored vehicles for the London Transport Museum.
2000s
Ash Grove re-opened again in 2000 for use by the London Buses company East Thames BusesEast Thames Buses
East Thames Buses was the only government owned bus operator of London Buses. It was sold to London General in 2009.-History:East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failed Harris Bus Company...
which took over the former Harris Bus
Harris Bus
Harris Bus is a former bus company based in West Thurrock. It was a subsidiary of Harris Coaches, and operated a small fleet of buses. On deregulation of bus services it was one of the early operators of tendered services for London Buses....
routes after that company ran into financial difficulties. Although East Thames Buses have now moved to new premises at Mandela Way, CT Plus moved into the garage yard to house its routes won in the London area. CT Plus use the garage to stabe vehicles for routes 153, 212
London Buses route 212
London Buses route 212 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to CT Plus.-History:...
, 385, 388, 394
London Buses route 394
London Buses route 394 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to CT Plus.-History:...
, 812
London buses route 812
PlusBus route 812 is a circuit bus route in Greater London, serving Finsbury and Islington. Unusually for a bus route entirely in Greater London, it is tendered and subsidised by Islington London Borough Council rather than Transport for London, and is operated under a London Service permit...
, W12, W13 and 675.
Arriva London
Arriva London
Arriva London is a division of Arriva which operates bus services in London, UK. It is made up of many previous bus operators including previously independent Grey Green...
used the depot as the base for their new Citaro articulated buses for route 38
London Buses route 38
London Buses route 38 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London....
following the conversion from Routemaster
Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was built by Associated Equipment Company in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open-platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with doors and/or front entrances...
s in November 2005. This has ended following the route's conversion back to double-deck operation, but routes 78
London Buses route 78
London buses route 78 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London.-History:...
and 168 have been transferred to operate from the garage.
Industrial relations
The garage has suffered from a number of industrial relations difficulties in its history. In 1991 London Forest won a group of eleven tendered routes in the WalthamstowWalthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
area on the basis of very low prices. This led to the company proposing a pay cut of around 18% to all staff, which saw staff at all of its four garages strike. Following these events the company was wound up and the garage closed.
In June 2008 forty CT Plus employees based at the garage protested against the dismissal of a shop steward who had refused to drive a bus with a health and safety defect. October 2010 saw strike action by CT Plus workers in a dispute over pay, although most services were not disrupted significantly.
Bus types in use
- Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 8.9m (DAS) for route 394.
- Alexander Dennis Enviro400 9.9m / Darwen OlympusOptare OlympusThe Optare Olympus is a double-decker bus built by Optare...
(EO) for route W13. - Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.2m / East Lancs Esteem (DE) for route W13.
- Dennis Dart SLF 9.4m / Alexander Dennis Pointer 2 (DPS) for route 385.
- Dennis Dart SLF 8.8m / Caetano SlimbusCaetano NimbusThe Caetano Nimbus was a bus body built by Salvador Caetano in Waterlooville, Hampshire, England, between 1999 and 2007. It was constructed exclusively on the Dennis Dart SLF....
(DCS) for route 394. - Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m / Caetano NimbusCaetano NimbusThe Caetano Nimbus was a bus body built by Salvador Caetano in Waterlooville, Hampshire, England, between 1999 and 2007. It was constructed exclusively on the Dennis Dart SLF....
(HDC) for route 153. - Dennis Trident 2Dennis Trident 2Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow...
9.9m / East Lancs Myllennium LolyneEast Lancs Myllennium LolyneThe East Lancs Myllennium Lolyne is a type of bus body built on the Dennis Trident 2 chassis by East Lancashire Coachbuilders.-History:The Myllennium Lolyne superseded the East Lancs Lolyne. The Lolyne was also the East Lancs body for the Dennis Trident 2, but in 2000, was given a facelift with...
(HTL) for route 388. - Dennis Trident 2Dennis Trident 2Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow...
9.9m / Plaxton PresidentPlaxton PresidentThe Plaxton President was a double-decker bus body built at Northern Counties plant in Wigan, England and branded as a Plaxton product for its main production run. It was unveiled in 1997 and built between 1999 and 2005. When Plaxton became part of TransBus International, the body was sold under...
(HTP) for routes 388 and 675. - Scania OmniCityScania OmniCityThe Scania OmniCity is an integrally-constructed transverse-engined low floor citybus available on the European market. The OmniCity is a complete product built in Poland by Scania AB, a company based in Sweden....
10.6m (SD) for route 212. - Optare SoloOptare SoloThe Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...
7.8m (OS) for route W12. - Optare SoloOptare SoloThe Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...
8.8m (OS) for route W5. - Optare SoloOptare SoloThe Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...
to be introduced on route 309 from February 2012.