From 27th July 2019, Metrobus operate all of the main day components of the Bromley Road corridor (208 and 320), with the 208 now passing into the hands of Go-Ahead London from Orpington (MB). New ADL E40H/Enviro 400MMC buses were ordered, and delivered for the route.
Between 1997 and 2019, the 208 has had an uninterrupted association with Bromley (TB), and along with Catford (TL), the route had been only operated by these two garages throughout the route's history. It was spawned from the 94 in 1982, and since then has linked Orpington with Lewisham via Bromley and Petts Wood.
Thus throughout its history, the route had been under Selkent and later Stagecoach London control post-privatisation. It was one of the last routes to have a split service, with a through service running through between Lewisham and Orpington only running full time from 2010 as the 320 was extended from Bromley to Catford to relieve the 208. Thus for the route to move to Metrobus would reunite the route with the other main day route on the Bromley Road corridor.
The Enviro 400Hs are with capacitors, and are one of the last newer buses to be specified without USB charging points. A fleet of 17 EHs (EH311-327) were ordered for the route, as per usual hybrid double decker orders for Go-Ahead London. The buses have strayed onto other routes, including the 320 already, but the 208 usually keeps its allocated buses so far.
The gain of Route 208 has moved the 51 to Bexleyheath (BX) in order to make room for the 208. This has led to strays of GAL buses which could feasibly have ran on the 51 prior to the route being lost by London Central in 2008 to Stagecoach, e.g. 56 reg Es. It has also led to strays of the ex-Abellio and ex-Tower Transit Enviro 400s allocated for the 51 on other Bexleyheath routes.
The EHs do enter hillier parts of London, including Bromley Hill. The performance of these buses on hills can be fairly good due to the torque of the electric part of the hybrid system. Otherwise, they are the usual, run of the mill, Enviro 400MMC bodied E40H buses as per seen with other places in London with GAL.
This is one of quite a few recent gains from Stagecoach that include the 51, 227 and R5/R10, showing strong performances by the former Metrobus division of the Go-Ahead London in recent tenders. The base at Green Street Green is not far off from Orpington, which has been a Metrobus stronghold for many years, only strengthening with this gain from Stagecoach.
On the 22nd of June (yep, we're on time as ever!) Go-Ahead London took the 227 from Stagecoach, running it from Orpington using new Wright Streetlites. It is the second time that the WLTM Transport Blog has covered the 227, with a prior post back in 2012 for the Citaros. There's a lot to write about these vehicles - but we'll leave that for later.
The takeover itself went much more smoothly than I (and I think most people) expected. Sure, the first day got off to the usual rocky start, with curtailments (Penge was a popular one) and all but it honestly wasn't that bad. Especially if you compare it to the last day under Stagecoach.
Oh, the last day was an experience. It was going fine until the afternoon, then things started to go a bit pear-shaped. It wasn't even their fault - between temporary traffic lights in Penge, a bus breaking down (with me on it), then the journey behind it not running because a driver got assaulted, the 227 briefly had no westbound service over the entire route. Fortunately, this happened off-peak, so loads weren't that bad on the next bus that actually ran.
Regular passengers were taking notice of the change - I overheard a few people chatting with the drivers about it. And, of course, the enthusiasts... Lots of them made the trip to Bromley for the last bus - I think most of the load on that journey was comprised of enthusiasts!
Coming back to GAL - one of the more minor (and amusing) hitches that happened in the first weeks was the iBus messing up. Someone must have typed something wrong, as the screens were proudly displaying "227 to Crystal Parade" on all of them. It's close... Crystal Palace Parade is where it terminates, after all. The actual announcement refused to acknowledge that the bus goes anywhere at all, as it just said "227 to..."
Now that it's been a bit more than a month, it's possible to compare how the route itself operates. It was pretty bad during the first week, but GAL seem to have gotten used to it pretty quickly. The 227's always been a difficult route to operate, as despite being so short it's very busy and prone to traffic. Large bunchings of buses are the norm, with either operator. There's slightly more of them happening under GAL, but then they have their work cut out as the new buses can't carry as many people as the old ones.
It's not just been Streetlites on the route either - Mercedes Citaro K demonstrator MBK1 has been on the route, as have several of Orpington's 13 plate long E200s. The irony, when your Citaro replacement is... a Citaro. One that's been on the 227 before, when Stagecoach had it:
The 227's buses seem to be the last new single deckers in London without USB charging ports. From the 232's contract onwards, all new buses will have them fitted.
Speaking of which, we have to compare the old and new types on the 227. Normally this would be done in a paragraph or two, but we're going really in depth here:
Space - The WSs aren't exactly spacious. I feel cramped at the back and I'm not particularly tall at 5'5". More importantly, they can't carry nearly as many people, despite only being half a metre shorter. The Citaros were allowed to squeeze over 100 people on, with ample legroom, cavernous standing areas and a double-sized wheelchair/buggy space. This worked very well - sometimes you even actually got 100 real human beings on!
The Streetlites can carry about 70 people. The wheelchair space is half the size, and has seats intruding into it. This is a problem - the 227 gets lots of parents with prams on it. I've personally seen 4 at once on the same bus. On a Citaro this is fine - on the WSs you can't get two in without blocking the aisle. It honestly feels like they've just taken a bus, stretched it, and crammed as many seats as possible into it.
That capacity reduction is a problem, too. Okay, it's not that bad off-peak, but the 227 gets very busy in the peaks. The WSs are crammed full where the Citaros had just a bit more space left. MBK1, despite being a full metre shorter than a WS, and already being very busy, was still able to fit people on at Shortlands thanks to its interior layout - people who had been left behind by the WS in front.
Reliability - we don't know yet, it's too early. Streetlites don't have a reputation for being the most reliable of buses. Personally, I've already heard the 227's ones making unhealthy noises - stuff like cooling fans, vibrations and such. Plus, MB have had to put other buses on the route in the first week of service. But all that could be down to a multitude of things, and doesn't say anything about the reliability of the WSs. None of MB's ones have spent weeks off the road yet... which, admittedly, is more than can be said for the similar ones on the 286 at MG. At any rate it's too early to tell, they've not been in service long enough.
This is the Achilles heel of the old Citaros - they weren't always available. As previously mentioned, one broke down on me on the last day. Some of them (like 23103) spent months at a time off the road, being covered for by E200s. It was rare for the 227 to go through an entire day without an E200 appearing on it. When they worked, they worked great, but after 7 years the Citaros weren't always working.
That turning circle - The 11.5m long Streetlites can't go round corners as fast as the 12m long Citaros could. I don't mean like an F1 racer, going round corners at 100mph. I mean, crawling around the corner at 3mph trying not to hit street furniture. Their turning circle is terrible - the most recent one I rode hit the kerb twice (with a massive jolt) in Beckenham despite swinging round the corner as wide as possible... and at a snail's pace.
In fact, the turning circle is so bad that they have trouble navigating the stand at Bromley North! The Citaros could steer round it in one go. So could the old Super Darts... despite them effectively being stretched from a smaller bus like a WS. But the WSs have to do things differently. They have to do a three point turn... or plod round it at 1mph.
Performance - Despite the Streetlite's reputation, the new WSs don't feel too slow on a normal, flat, 30mph road. They get up to speed fine... sort of. As long as you don't want to go faster than 25mph they're okay. It might be time for a video or two:
There's a problem though - the 227 has hills. Steep hills. Whether the bus is nearly empty or fully loaded doesn't seem to make much difference in how it climbs hills - badly. The nearly empty WS124 on the first trip (linked above) was losing speed up Crystal Palace Park Road. And as for what they're like fully loaded, here's a clip of WS121 going up the hill into Bromley:
Honestly, it starts off quite well. It puts power down, and gains speed. Unfortunately, that is short lived, as it seems to lose all the speed it has very quickly. The Voith gearbox won't downshift, so before you know it, the bus is almost stationary before it decides to shift into first gear and set off again.
The Citaros, on the other hand, have the exact opposite reputation of what the Streetlites have. After a brief lag on pull away, they go flying into the distance - regardless of what sort of incline the bus happens to be on at the time. Which means that enthusiasts (such as me) liked them. The average passenger won't be bothered about all that, but for those enthusiasts who have suffered through all the videos of Streetlites, here's a bit of relief for you:
Smoothness - oh dear. This is another department where the Streetlite doesn't have a good reputation, and the 227's ones live up to that. They're not great on acceleration, as the gearbox is seemingly incapable of delivering smooth shifts regardless of driving style. Drive like a granny, drive like Lewis Hamilton, or anything in between, they will not deliver a smooth ride.
These WSs also have a habit of having massive panic attacks, where the gearbox will clunk, change down, and rev the hell out of the engine, at low speeds and seemingly at random. This is not a very smooth experience, although it is extremely entertaining!
The ride and suspension aren't too bad for a Streetlite. It's not nearly as bad as one I once rode in Essex, which launched me out of my seat as the bus went over a bump in the road at 40mph. The WSs aren't very comfortable over large bumps, but they're tolerable on a normal road.
And then the brakes. We've saved the worst for last - the brakes are actually dreadful. Under a full load, going down a hill, it takes ages to stop the bus, and it spends the entire time shuddering and jerking, much to the dissatisfaction of my spine. To pull into a bus stop takes about 15 seconds of slowly, carefully bleeding off speed so that the bus doesn't just decide to break your neck. You'd have to ride one to see what I mean - but trust me, the brakes on the WSs are the only thing about them that I'd say I actively hate.
In contrast with all that, the Citaros. Yes, they give you a big kick up the backside when the power comes in. But apart from that, they were fine - the ride, braking, cornering, all that was perfectly smooth. Which is important when dealing with a route that has so many standing passengers.
But my conclusion? Yeah, you guessed it, I'd take the Citaro over the Streetlite any day - it was never going to be any other way. The Streetlite will take people from A to B like any other bus (well, assuming they can get on it), it just won't do a very good job of it. So, if you'll excuse me, I need to get from Bromley to Crystal Palace - I'll get on a 358. Bye now.
Oh, and 232 users - stay calm. Your post about your (better) Streetlites is coming soon.
Post written by Jacek Herominski
Photos and videos by Jacek Herominski, Aubrey Morandarte, Alisha Juszczyk
It's pretty rare that we get to introduce a new route to the fold, but here is Route 301. Introduced on 13th July 2019, it links Bexleyheath more directly to the Elizabeth Line at Abbey Wood, and said project isn't open yet. Yet another bus related Elizabeth Line/Crossrail change introduced prior to the actual introduction of the rail line.
Operated by Arriva London from Dartford (DT) using used VDL DB300/Wright Gemini 2s from Wood Green, after the hybrid conversion of some routes there. These buses join a plethora of similar buses from various batches at Dartford, with many of the routes being won by Dartford with these buses displaced from inner London routes.
The route uses the formerly emergency stand at Bexleyheath Shopping Centre that is usually designed for about one bus, so squeezing two buses can be tight. Due to the 301 bus stand also being directly opposite the rest of the bus stands, the bus has to travel to the next roundabout enroute to starting its journey.
The route goes through a number of new roads, which are all not fitted with bus stops. Therefore, a lot of the route between Abbey Wood and Woolwich is hail and ride. However, another new road was not implemented, in favour of New Road with an existing bus route. Some TfL documents and the original consultation had the 301 going up Knee Hill, but due to local authority reasons not modifying the top of Knee Hill to be suitable for buses, the 301 ended up going via the existing B11 route. Said same consultation will also route 469 through New Road, giving an increased service to a road which might not even need more than the singular bus route in the first place!
One immediate benefit for the 301 is that it manages to clear the crowds that used to take an hour to clear at Bexleyheath post-school hours in about 20-30 minutes, as there is a significant increase of bus routes on the corridor that follows the 401 out of Bexleyheath. It also should boost capacity between Woolwich and Thamesmead immediately, as the current routes tend to get fairly busy. Currently, the 301 and 472 follow each other up Nathan Road, but after all the Crossrail changes are implemented, the 472 will go via Western Way, leaving the industrial area to the 301 solely.
The service was poorly publicised by Transport for London, with posters being made and put up by an enterprising citizen wanting to inform a whole local area with A4 posters. A better effort than what TfL ever made for the route. It is slightly stupid to introduce a new route, without any notable prior publicity.
It showed, with light loadings being experienced. This has led to buses being slightly faster, and including how Dartford control their routes, it led to multiple stops for regulating the service. However, coming out of the termini, if there has not been a parallel service for a while (401/472), the bus does fill up at times.
The performance of the buses on these routes can vary, depending on when Dartford have managed to derestrict the buses, as well as fixing the faults from their previous service in other parts of London, so the buses can be used at full strength for the hillier parts of South East London. DB300s are good buses, but they have been fairly restricted in the more inner parts of London.
Initial signs show that the bus route is not living to its full potential, but once the Elizabeth Line changes occur, the route will live to its full potential. The changes would mean there would be less parallel to the 472 and the B11. The main increase of patronage will be when the Elizabeth Line opens. If the damned thing actually opens somewhere in my lifetime!
On 27th July 2019, Route 81 moved down Kingsley Road from London United to Metroline at their new base on Spring Grove Road in Lampton. Used Volvo B9TLs were passed onto the route.
Yet another Metroline win on the western front from RATP. It increases the Metroline presence in Hounslow to an extent that it has most of the routes on the Bath Road corridor
The buses are based in the old Westbus depot as the Westbus moved to Hayes Garage, allowing the 81 to be based in Lampton. However, Metroline are not the only tenant in the site, with a light industrial site squeezed within the site as well.
Operation with London United started with Westlink winning the route in 1995 from Hounslow Heath. London United bought Westlink, and moved the route to Hounslow (AV) completely in 2000. Prior to tendering in 1985 as the first LT route to be tendered to a private operator (London Bus Lines), it was based in Hounslow as well.
The route is now based out of the former Westbus depot at Lampton (SG). Existing Volvo B9TLs displaced from Harrow Weald and spares from Brentford were drafted for the route.
81 is unique in that it sticks out into Berkshire (technically Slough Borough Council) as the only TfL route to go there. Thanks to the cuts caused by First Berkshire scaling down their operations in Berkshire, the 81 is the most frequent and the main route out of Slough. First (9) and Reading Buses (703) both operate parallel stopping services down the Bath Road, although they do not get nearly as much custom as the 81.
VW1255 was a Holloway bus to start, but ended up at Brentford for the E8 extension, prior to a temporary move to Lampton for the 81. It is now (as of August 2019) back at Brentford. VW1382 meanwhile started at Holloway too, but went via Perivale to Lampton. However, apart from said VW1833, the allocation has settled to the 62 reg buses mostly ex-Harrow Weald.
Driver changes are handled similar to when it was under London United, with buses running to the garage. However, as the garage has now changed, buses go along the short bit of Kingsley Road and Spring Grove Road to the garage, where changeovers occur on the forecourt.
As these buses are approximately the same age as the ADEs that were on the route under RATP, the route will receive newer buses upon the next contract. Meanwhile, these diesel buses will continue to ply the route until either the end of the contract, or when the route is affected heavily by the Heathrow Airport third runway construction, which may begin during this contract.
