London Bus Tender Awards: Routes 133, 279 & 333 To Convert To New Electric Buses And New Routemasters To Continue On Routes 59, 137 and East London Transit Services

Drawing of the New Routemaster with East London Transit livery

The new London Bus Tender Awards have revealed routes 133, 279, and 333 will soon be using brand new zero-emission electric buses, and the three-door, two-staircase hybrid New Routemasters are retained on routes 59, 137, and the East London Transit services.

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

Route	Current Operator	New Operator	PVR	Vehicles
59	Arriva London	Arriva London	20	Existing New Routemaster
133/N133	Arriva London	Abellio London	24	New electric double deck
137/N137	Arriva London	Arriva London	28	Existing New Routemaster
279/N279	Arriva London	Arriva London	30	New electric double deck
333	Arriva London	London General	15	New electric double deck
EL1	Blue Triangle	Blue Triangle	18	Existing New Routemaster
EL2	Blue Triangle	Blue Triangle	14	Existing New Routemaster
EL3	Blue Triangle	Blue Triangle	14	Existing New Routemaster

*New electric vehicles may enter service after the contract start date, dependent on infrastructure and/ or vehicle delivery timescales.

*All of the hybrid vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards.

The start and end dates for the above contracts are detailed as follows:

59
Start: 27th January 2024
End: 26th January 2029

133/N133
Start: 20th January 2024
End: 17th January 2031

137/N137
Start: 20th January 2024
End: 19th January 2029

279/N279
Start: 14th October 2023
End: 11th October 2030

333
Start: 20th January 2024
End: 17th January 2031

EL1 (24h)
Start: 17th February 2024
End: 16th February 2029

EL2
Start: 17th February 2024
End: 16th February 2029

EL3
Start: 17th February 2024
End: 16th February 2029

London bus operators London General and Blue Triangle are part of the Go-Ahead London group.

More orders for new electric buses is good news for bus manufacturers and their supply chains, as the jobs for workers are safeguarded with the help of financing by public bodies such as Transport for London, the Government, devolved administrations, etc.

I’ll wrap up the article by showing you some of my tweets posted on Twitter.

An update on the Zero-Emission Bus rollout for England, including numbers of new buses for London and the rest of the UK, by the @transportgovuk Secretary of State @Mark_J_Harper. https://t.co/zLtDpBsWKK pic.twitter.com/RcezKghI64

— CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) May 18, 2023

#Volvo Buses confirms two orders totalling 189 electric buses for #Stagecoach in the #UK – including its largest electric bus order to date

150 double deckers & 20 single deckers will feature MCV bodywork built to Transport for Manchester specifications.https://t.co/VgsOKMwWsF https://t.co/rWL6Eg15XT pic.twitter.com/3cW9Y4pmTt

— CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) May 12, 2023

First ever #Volvo BZL Electric double-deck buses hit UK roads in #Cambridgehttps://t.co/4YlS60t82G pic.twitter.com/B0GPO9fsng

— CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) May 15, 2023

Transport Scotland: £58 million for zero emission buses

The Scottish Government has launched the second phase of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB), with up to £58 million available.https://t.co/MjDHUoNxys pic.twitter.com/mTxRHjftZs

— CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) May 15, 2023

#UK Department for Transport - Official Statistics
Domestic Transport in Great Britain Usage by Mode including Railway, 🚉 Buses, London Buses, 🚍🚏 #London Underground, 🚇 and Motor Traffic. 🏍️🚗🚐🚚

Updated 10 May 2023https://t.co/Psd8ONyM37 pic.twitter.com/mTLaB8mtQF

— CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) May 17, 2023

I invite you to follow me on Twitter by searching for @CLondoner92 or by clicking on the direct link to my Twitter page here.