_2008_Mercedes-Benz_Citaro%2C_route_453%2C_10_June_2011.jpg) |
| "London General bus MAL117 (BP57 UJY) 2008 Mercedes-Benz Citaro, route 453, 10 June 2011" by Darren Hall Uploaded by Ultra7. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. |
_2008_Mercedes-Benz_Citaro,_route_453,_10_June_2011.jpg#mediaviewer/File:London_General_bus_MAL117_(BP57_UJY)_2008_Mercedes-Benz_Citaro,_route_453,_10_June_2011.jpg){kind=link}
LOTS (London Omnibus Traction Society) have reported that route 453 has
missed two target dates, so the route conversion to New Routemasters will now
commence on the 18th of
October 2014.
This is not the first time the route has experienced delays converting to a
specific bus type.
The first delay occurred on the 15th of February back in
2003
when the route first started with conventional deckers, then a month later
on the 15th of March the route finally got their Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530G
Artics. It seems that history is repeating itself for route 453, in terms of
route conversion delays.
What TFL should've done is to do a phase conversion so there would be
minimal disruption to the route if the New Routemasters stop working due to
teething problems. Routes that got phased conversion to New Routemasters is
route 11 and 38.
This is a follow up to my
previous article which can be found here
References:
Quote: ‘Since up to LT272 were delivered in June, no more NBfLs have arrived
in London. The next type conversion is London General route 453 (to be all opo)
and, after two target dates have been missed, is now likely to begin from 18th
October. After that, it is Arriva 137 (to be with C/As) with conversion likely
to be under way in mid-to-late November. Around 50 to 60 new Euro-VI LTs have
been built (numbers as high as the 32*, 33* and 34* range have been noted) and
these have been stored up to now in Northern Ireland. We understand that some
of the London General buses are now imminent for delivery.’