London Bus Tender Awards: Route 149 To Continue Using New Routemasters – Also, Bus Types To Be Commenced For Other Routes

This is a brief London Bus news update as TfL have recently announced new London Bus tender awards.

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

Route	Current Operator	New Operator	PVR	Vehicles
80	London General	London General	15	Double deck (details TBC)
91/N91	Metroline	London General	15	Existing hybrid double deck
93*	London General	London General	26	Double deck (details TBC)
149*	Arriva London North	Arriva London North	29	Existing New Routemaster
151	London General	London General	14	Double deck (details TBC)
154*	London General	London General	16	Double deck (details TBC)
163	London General	London General	12	Single deck (details TBC)**
164	London General	London General	TBC	Single deck (details TBC)
187	Metroline West	Metroline West	10	Single deck (details TBC)
297*	Metroline	Metroline	16	Double deck (details TBC)
384	Metroline	Metroline	8	Single deck (details TBC)
470	London United	London General	TBC	Existing diesel single deck
487	Metroline West	Metroline West	11	Single deck (details TBC)
N97	London Transit	London General	n/a	Existing hybrid double deck***
W5	HCT Group	HCT Group	7	Single deck (details TBC)

* 24 hour routes (154 at weekends only).

** One bus is double deck.

*** Night only route using buses from day routes.

All the diesel & hybrid vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards.

Start and end dates for the above contracts will be as follows:

Route	Contract Start Date	Contract End Date
80	3rd December 2022	30th November 2029
91/N91	4th February 2023	1st February 2030
93	3rd December 2022	30th November 2029
149	15th October 2022	15th October 2027
151	3rd December 2022	30th November 2029
154	3rd December 2022	30th November 2029
163	3rd December 2022	30th November 2029
164	3rd December 2022	30th November 2029
187	4th March 2023	1st March 2030
297	3rd December 2022	30th November 2029
384	22nd October 2022	19th October 2029
470	3rd December 2022	30th November 2029
487	4th March 2023	1st March 2030
N97	4th March 2023	1st March 2030
W5	4th February 2023	1st February 2030

The abbreviation for TBC is ‘To Be Commenced,’ which means we could see existing buses used for the route contracts or new zero-emission buses provided by a range of manufacturers:

• Alexander Dennis and BYD
• Arrival
• CaetanoBus
• Equipmake
• Irizar e-mobility
• Mellor Bus
• Switch Mobility
• Van Hool
• Volvo
• Wrightbus

We’ll have to wait and see which buses will be selected by bus operators once their new route contracts start.

The three-door, two-staircase New Routemaster (NRM) manufactured by Wrightbus is expected to continue to operate on route 149 until their contract ends in October 2027; the contract may extend by two years depending on the service performance by bus operator Arriva London. Hopefully in the near future we’ll see a new range of zero-emission buses from manufacturers to potentially replace the NRMs.

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