10 Years of route 15H and also the "Enviro400H" City launch

Having returned from my trip now, I will update you on the latest bus news including the Route 15H anniversary. The following events are happening on 14^th November 2015.

10 years of Heritage route 15

The contract of routes 15H and 9H started on 12^th November 2005, but the official operation began on 14^th November 2005.

The 'Heritage Routes' buses are AEC Routemaster buses which had been refurbished with new engines and lighting by Marshall back in 2001. This is why they sound like Dennis Darts, because of the refurbishment.

The main Route 15 had full operation of AEC Routemasters which started on the 1st April 1964 and ended on 30th August 2003. They were replaced by ALX400 Dennis Tridents as part of TFL’s policy to make 100% of bus services low floor and accessible. Before the mainstream withdrawal of AEC Routemasters the route also had preserved Routemaster buses such as the green RMC1461 (461CLT) which featured a rear door instead of an open platform.

Latest News and Updates

Yes driverless trains strike too!

Firstly, sorry about the lack of posts recently but I have been busy preparing for a short holiday and as I'm leaving tomorrow I thought I'd better give you an update on the London Transport services before I go.

First off, we have the latest London Buses tender awards:

Consultation response on Route 15H

Recently I received an email from TFL Consultations regarding Route 15H frequency change.

The purpose of the consultation is to change the frequency of the service from 15 to 20 minutes to maintain the services reliability. 85 stakeholders (including me) took part on the consultation.

Taken from ‘Response to the main issues raised’:

TfL's response to  main issues raised

There was opposition to the proposal to reduce the frequency of the Heritage Routemaster 15.

This included the following:

October 2015 Bus News update

I haven’t written any articles over the past week as I've been busy filming London Transport services for my Dailymotion channel.

Here is the news from LOTS (London Omnibus Traction Society)

·         The New Addington service changes duly began as planned on Saturday 24th as described in TLB613 page 12, with frequency increases on the 64, 130 and 359, route extensions on 64, 353 and 359, withdrawal of T31/T32 and renumbering of T33 to 433.

Route 26 to have buses with ‘New Routemaster Features’

I wrote in my previous article that CT Plus has won the Route 26 contract and the good news is that I've found out from London Bus Routes ‘Service changes’ page that route 26 will be getting buses with ‘NRM features.’

Fastrack: Kent Thameside’s bus rapid transit

Fastrack is a bus rapid transit scheme in the Thames Gateway area of Kent which consists of two routes. It was first founded on 26th March 2006.

Their routes are as follows:

·         Route A serves Bluewater, Greenhithe, Temple Hill and Dartford

·         Route B serves Gravesend, Ebbsfleet International Railway station, Swanscombe, Ingress Park, Greenhithe, Bluewater, Dartford and Temple Hill

Both of these services are operated by Arriva Kent Thameside on behalf of Kent County Council.

Ensignbus route X80 Lakeside to Bluewater

taken from their leaflet cover

Route X80 is operated by Ensignbus, the route starts at Chafford Hundred railway station and goes via Lakeside Bus Station, Tesco Lakeside (starts from 2nd November 2015) then it goes via the Dartford Crossing over the river Thames and Dartford Galleon Boulevard, Greenhithe Railway Station with the route finally ending at Bluewater Shopping Centre.

Ensignbus has a specific webpage dedicated to route X80 and you can view their maps, timetables and fares here.

First Essex Route 100, Chelmsford to Lakeside with Volvo 7900H

Taken from their leaflet cover

First Essex operates Route 100 in Essex with the route starting from Chelmsford and ending at Lakeside. The route goes via Billericay, Noak Bridge, Basildon and Grays.

New London Bus Tender awards and the ZeEUS Project

LOTS (London Omnibus Traction Society) has reported on the new London Bus tender awards.

The following TfL contracts have been announced:

Update on the new Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City

Since the new Enviro400H City was officially unveiled at the Coach & Bus Live at Birmingham NEC on 30th September 2015, I have found a couple of reports from Alexander Dennis about the bus and the hybrid electric system they use.

New-generation London Bus Marks 5,000 Milestone for BAE Systems’ Hybrid Technology