Existing Enviros on 157

Arriva London T112 on Route 157, Morden Station (© Aubrey)
First eastbound Arriva bus on Route 157 (second Arriva 157).

The 157 was the first change to occur on 3rd December 2016, changing from Abellio London to Arriva London using existing Enviro 400s from the 133, which got DWs out of yet another Arriva fleet shuffle.


Arriva London T128 on Route 157, West Croydon Bus Station (© Aubrey)

Crews are based from Thornton Heath (TH), however the buses are parked at Norwood (N) for this route. The route returns (in some form) to Thornton Heath since November 1988, when the route was moved to Sutton (A) under the Sutton Bus scheme. On Sundays, Thornton Heath based Enviro 400s are used instead of the ones partially shared with the 2/133.


Arriva London T114 on Route 157, Morden Station (© Aubrey)

Yes, the lighting is poor here.
The buses that these replace include worn-out Volvo B7TLs bought from the time with Travel London, and ex-Connex, ex-Travel London and then Abellio London Dennis Trident/ALX400s, with some lasting from the first day on the 157 with Connex, to the last day of the 157 with Abellio London.


Abellio London 9756 on Route 157, Wallington Station (© Aubrey)

The route is an orbital suburban route running from Morden to Crystal Palace, via Croydon. The last significant routeing change was when it was cut from Raynes Park (via current 164>163) to Morden Station. It is a fairly busy route, although it is paralleled by National Rail lines roughly throughout.


Arriva London T128 on Route 157, Morden Station (© Aubrey)

Other than the first bus from Morden running 15 minutes late, the 157 seems to be settled with Arriva's Enviro 400s for the next few years. There has been no notable complaints with the 157 service, so far.