Very Green (Route 488 28/02/15)

A perfect description of the floor and poles of the new Enviro 200 (Euro 6) for Route 488:

Tower Transit DMV45110 on Route 488, Dalston Junction (© Aubrey)

These buses are the predictable Enviro 200s with Allison gearboxes, and the interior is green:

Interior of Tower Transit DMV45108 on Route 488, Dalston Junction (CC Aubrey)
Very green. Then it was predicted as green is the main colour of the Tower Transit logo.


Interior of Tower Transit DMV45108 on Route 488, Dalston Junction (CC Aubrey)
Some people even have said it resembles older buses when green was deemed the standard colour for poles, and some buses had a combination of grey-green as an interior.


Tower Transit DMV45108 on Route 488, Dalston Junction (© Aubrey)


Tower Transit DMV45109 on Route 488, Bromley-By-Bow (CC Aubrey)
Curtailments were as per expected, due to the "first day syndrome" Jacek likes to coin, but over gradual days, the route will run smoothly. Until the Blackwall Tunnel messes up again.


Tower Transit DMV45107 on Route 488, Bromley By-Bow/Hancock Road (CC Aubrey)

These are fitted with white blinds with a newer Mobitec system that proved to be a problem for some drivers.


Tower Transit DMV45107 on Route 488, Bromley By-Bow/Hancock Road (CC Aubrey)

Even with instructions on a sheet to change the blinds, some drivers took at least six goes (well, this one did) to turn the blind to 488 with destination. That is what I attribute to the Mobitec system and lack of training of drivers on blinds. This sort of thing happened on the E10 (so much so that Lewis had to help a driver with his blinds!).


Tower Transit DMV45111 on Route 488, Hackney Wick (© Aubrey)
The batch for the 488 is DMV45101-111 (retrospectively YY64 YKL-P,R-W).


Tower Transit DMV45103 on Route 488, Hackney Wick (© Aubrey)
Driver changes are at the 30 stand at Hackney Wick/Chapman Road, where toilet facilities are literally a container with a portaloo inside it!


Tower Transit DMV45101 curtailed on Route 488 to Clapton Pond whilst DMV45103 waits for driver change at Hackney Wick (© Aubrey)
Common curtailments on the first day were including Bow Church and Clapton Pond, both shown by DMV45111!:


Tower Transit DMV45111 on Route 488, Clapton Pond (© Aubrey)
(oddly, this bus ran Bow Church-Clapton Pond on that trip!)

During the day, I saw no service disruptions on the route, and there were some quick drivers on the route. The Euro 6 E20D scream is there, very notably on some, as the screams can be heard over A12 traffic! Buses are presentable, and on the second day, an ex-First DMV ended up on the 488 as a predictable working (with I assume full blinds due to new blinds being installed in them).