East Thames Buses
Encyclopedia
East Thames Buses was the only government owned bus operator (via Transport for London
) of London Buses
. It was sold to London General
in 2009.
. It was then used as a unit taking over routes from defunct operators such as London Easylink's
42
& 185
.
In 2008, East Thames awarded their exclusive contract for bus-side advertising to Titan outdoor for five years. http://www.mad.co.uk/BreakingNews/BreakingNews/Articles/fa3a1f6e7a1646619ff4b1dabcfda45f/Titan-Bus-wins-East-Thames-bus-contract.html
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. London General begin a new five year contract for all East Thames Buses routes. The sale was completed on 3 October 2009.
and Kentish Bus garage at Ash Grove
and Harris's Belvedere Garage. Ash Grove was vacated on 13th October 2005, and replaced by Mandela Way.
The intention was to replace Belvedere and Ash Grove with one site on an Easterly side of London and set up a new base, that was never decided, in West London. This coupled with the ability to close down 4 of the Dial a Ride Sub-bases (only 2 of which actually made it) whilst also providing office space for a new centralised Dial a Ride call centre made Mandela Way the obvious choice. It had a Peak Vehicle Requirement of 53 buses and operates London bus routes 1
, 42
and 185
.
When MA (Mandela Way - West) closed on 30th April 2010 it ran the following types of buses:
Following on from Ash Grove's role, Mandela Way serviced the East Thames Buses fleet. In the last few months of East Thames Operation, the route 1 had moved next door to MW, Mandela Way - East (the original London General depot) but were still maintained by the East Thames Engineers.
Most of the routes once operated by Mandela Way - West(MA) are now scattered around London General's & London Central's other Garages. The only exception is the 393 which has put back out to tender shortly after East Thames Buses took over the running of the 201 and move to Mandela Way.
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.
This garage has a peak vehicle requirement of 15 buses and operates routes 180 and part of the 669 and N1. From 22 January 2011 route 244 will transfer to Belvedere from Bexleyheath. Belvedere has always been classed as a satellite garage from and engineering point of view with very little routine maintenance ever taking place there, however limited engineering facilities existed at Belvedere up until its parent garage changing to Bexleyheath.
Belvedere garage currently runs the following models:
Belvedere have operated the following routes.
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
) of 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 sold to London General
London General
London General is a bus company operating in Surrey ang Greater London. It is owned by the Go-Ahead Group and operates most buses under contract to London Buses...
in 2009.
History
East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failed Harris Bus CompanyHarris 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....
. It was then used as a unit taking over routes from defunct operators such as London Easylink's
London Easylink
London Easylink was a short-lived bus operator located in London. Its base was at the Transco Gas station, on Old Kent Road. In late 2002, Easylink went into liquidation. They operated London Buses route 185 with Plaxton President-bodied Volvo B7TLs, and had just won London Buses route 42 with...
42
London Buses route 42
London Buses route 42 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:...
& 185
London Buses route 185
London Buses route 185 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:...
.
In 2008, East Thames awarded their exclusive contract for bus-side advertising to Titan outdoor for five years. http://www.mad.co.uk/BreakingNews/BreakingNews/Articles/fa3a1f6e7a1646619ff4b1dabcfda45f/Titan-Bus-wins-East-Thames-bus-contract.html
On 29 July 2009, Transport for London announced that East Thames Buses would be sold to London General, part of Go-Ahead London
Go-Ahead London
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...
. The sale of East Thames Buses was for around £5m, which includes all assets. London General begin a new five year contract for all East Thames Buses routes. The sale was completed on 3 October 2009.
Garages
When it was formed East Thames Buses operated from the former London ForestLondon 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...
and Kentish Bus garage at Ash Grove
Ash Grove Bus Garage
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...
and Harris's Belvedere Garage. Ash Grove was vacated on 13th October 2005, and replaced by Mandela Way.
Mandela Way - West (MA)
Mandela Way opened in late 2005 following the relocation from the existing base at Ash Grove Many people believe, due to the impending move of Arriva into Ash Grove with artics for route 38London 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....
The intention was to replace Belvedere and Ash Grove with one site on an Easterly side of London and set up a new base, that was never decided, in West London. This coupled with the ability to close down 4 of the Dial a Ride Sub-bases (only 2 of which actually made it) whilst also providing office space for a new centralised Dial a Ride call centre made Mandela Way the obvious choice. It had a Peak Vehicle Requirement of 53 buses and operates London bus routes 1
London Buses route 1
London Buses route 1 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:...
, 42
London Buses route 42
London Buses route 42 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:...
and 185
London Buses route 185
London Buses route 185 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:...
.
When MA (Mandela Way - West) closed on 30th April 2010 it ran the following types of buses:
- Volvo B7TLVolvo B7TLVolvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of Volvo Olympian...
10m/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...
(VP - Route 185, may stray onto route 1) - Volvo B7TLVolvo B7TLVolvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of Volvo Olympian...
10.6m/Wright Eclipse GeminiWright Eclipse GeminiThe Wright Eclipse Gemini is a type of double-decker bus body built for Volvo B7TL and later Volvo B9TL and Volvo B5L Hybrid for use in the United Kingdom....
(VWL - Normally route 1) - Scania N94Scania N94The Scania N94 was a transverse-engined low-floor city bus built by Scania AB, which was a direct replacement of Scania N113.It was originally available with rigid version N94UB and articulated version N94UA, but from 2002 a double-deck version known as the N94UD also became available.The N94UD was...
10.7m/East Lancs MyllenniumEast Lancs MyllenniumThe East Lancs Myllennium is a type of bus body built on MAN, Volvo, DAF/VDL and Alexander Dennis chassis. It was built as a single and double deck body, with double deck bodies having slightly different names .-Single decker:...
(ELS - Route 42) - Dennis Dart / Pointers (On Loan from Go-Ahead London General)
Following on from Ash Grove's role, Mandela Way serviced the East Thames Buses fleet. In the last few months of East Thames Operation, the route 1 had moved next door to MW, Mandela Way - East (the original London General depot) but were still maintained by the East Thames Engineers.
Most of the routes once operated by Mandela Way - West(MA) are now scattered around London General's & London Central's other Garages. The only exception is the 393 which has put back out to tender shortly after East Thames Buses took over the running of the 201 and move to Mandela Way.
- 1 = MW (Mandela Way - East)
- 42 = Q (Camberwell)
- 185 = Q (Camberwell)
- 201 = AL (Merton)
- 393 = Now Operated by Arriva London AE (Ash Grove)
Belvedere (BV)
Belvedere was leased by Harris BusHarris 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....
in 1998 to house its operations that moved from Crayford
Crayford
Crayford is a town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bexley that was an important bridging point in Roman times across the River Cray, a tributary of the River Darent, which is itself a tributary of the River Thames.-History:...
. Harris Bus went into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
in 2000, and its routes and garage were taken over by London Buses under the guise of East Thames Buses.
This garage has a peak vehicle requirement of 15 buses and operates routes 180 and part of the 669 and N1. From 22 January 2011 route 244 will transfer to Belvedere from Bexleyheath. Belvedere has always been classed as a satellite garage from and engineering point of view with very little routine maintenance ever taking place there, however limited engineering facilities existed at Belvedere up until its parent garage changing to Bexleyheath.
Belvedere garage currently runs the following models:
- Volvo B7TLVolvo B7TLVolvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of Volvo Olympian...
10.6m/Wright Eclipse GeminiWright Eclipse GeminiThe Wright Eclipse Gemini is a type of double-decker bus body built for Volvo B7TL and later Volvo B9TL and Volvo B5L Hybrid for use in the United Kingdom....
(VWL - Routes 180, N1).
Belvedere have operated the following routes.
- 1/N1 – some trips still run from BV (Belvedere), the main crux of the service has transferred over to MW (Mandela Way - East).
- 53 = Extras to supplement the service operated by Selkent PD (Plumstead) whilst the hole in Blackheath was being repaired
- 108/N108 = Now operated by NX (New Cross)
- 132 = Now operated by BX (Bexleyheath)
- 180 = still run from BV (Belvedere)
- 185 = Now run from Q (Camberwell)
- 201 = During the initial takeover of the route, 50% of the trips were run from BV (Belvedere)
- L1, L1X, L2, L3 – Lakeside trips from Orpington, Bexleyheath, Swanley and Gravesend respectively. The Welling L4 was never scheduled to run from BV (Belverdere).