Downgrade Max

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.


WS121 departing Crystal Palace
© Alisha Juszczyk

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.


Both the 227 and 358 had Citaros of different generations, as seen here in Crystal Palace
© Aubrey Morandarte

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!


23103 at Beckenham back in 2015
© Aubrey Morandarte

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..."


WS123 passing under the reason why the route has single deckers at Shortlands
© Aubrey Morandarte

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 2016 version of MBK1 (80030 under Stagecoach) on Route 227
© Jacek Herominski


The 2019 version of MBK1 on Route 227 under Metrobus
© Alisha Juszczyk

The WSs have started to stray as well, making a few brief appearances on route 358. They don't seem to stay on it for very long, though.


Stray WS118 lumbering on the 358
© Alisha Juszczyk

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.


WS118 heading out of Bromley Town Centre
© Aubrey Morandarte

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.


The clear size difference between the Citaro and the Streetlite Max is clearly shown. The Citaro on the 358 is the full sized bus, whilst the Streetlite on the 227 is the stretched midibus, which clearly shows.
© Aubrey Morandarte

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.


WS120 passing under the bridge at Shortlands
© Aubrey Morandarte

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.


A comparison between buses turning at the Bromley North turnaround.
© Aubrey Morandarte

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:


First journey on the first day, on WS124
© Jacek Herominski

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:


© Jacek Herominski

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:


© Jacek Herominski

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.


WS122 lumbering up the hill from Shortlands to Bromley
© Aubrey Morandarte

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.


The old, preferred allocation of Citaros on the 227
(Also, compare 23103 from the prior photograph of it in 2015 earlier in the post!)
© Aubrey Morandarte

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

All rights reserved © WLTMTB 2019

Micro Delays

18489 tackles the new stretch of route in North Woolwich
(© Aubrey)

On 5th May 2018, Route 474 had its first change of operator through an awarded contract (instead of novation within a group). Prior to 2018, Blue Triangle/Docklands Buses were the only operators to have run the 474. Ordered for the route was Alexander-Dennis Enviro 400H buses. These buses are smart hybrids, which have a battery to help with acceleration, but are just otherwise a diesel bus. However, as they are late, Alexander-Dennis Tridents transferred from Bromley (TB) and existing buses from West Ham were used on the 474.


19866 at the Woolwich Ferry
(© Aubrey)

As the route is run from West Ham, the changeovers are at Canning Town. As there is work ongoing to the 474 stand at Barking Road/Hermit Road, the route is terminating at Canning Town Bus Station.


18487 on Store Road, North Woolwich
(© Aubrey)

In order to reduce the delays caused by queues for the Woolwich Ferry, the route has been diverted towards Manor Park via Store Road and Pier Road, between the stops of St John's Church and North Woolwich Ferry. This was a very minor change to the route which was consulted as part of the Crossrail/Elizabeth Line East London bus route changes, which include rerouting the 474 via Kier Hardie Estate and Custom House in order to serve the Custom House Crossrail/Elizabeth Line station.


18493 on stand at Manor Park Station
(© Aubrey)

A ride on the 474 itself proved to be slower than before, due to reliability measures on the route. The route still has some bunching, but is otherwise okay. All buses on the route have full blinds, and at least look presentable. The new blinds for the 474 are yellow on black inserts for the Tridents, and full new blinds for the Enviro 400s. Both 11reg and 12reg buses are used on the route.


19745 approaches North Woolwich
(© Aubrey)

Post by Aubrey and Jacek Herominski
Photos by Aubrey
All rights reserved © WLTMTB 2018

6th Year Post

Somehow, we've gotten to our sixth year of blogging and as traditionally so, we put a post out on the birthday of the blog. This year, the blog members are going to say what our favourite bus type are, and why.

Aubrey:


London United VP111 on Route 111, Kingston Cromwell Road, 2013
(© Aubrey Morandarte)

Firstly, it's of course the sod whom made the blog in the first place. As we are a bunch of similarly aged sods, we'll most likely pick buses we grew up with. For my bunch, I've chosen the Euro II Volvo B7TL, with the Plaxton President body. From 2000 to 2013, the Volvo B7TL was the mainstay for Hounslow based double decker bus routes. These Euro 2 examples were ordered for the 120/H32 (the VAs were ordered for the 111).


VP118 back in 2007 at Heathrow Central Bus Station on Route 111
(© Aubrey Morandarte)

These buses were the then new buses that were on the 111 at the time that I used to go to Heathrow to spot planes. As these buses were the buses which partly helped me get into buses, this is why they are good. They are also powerful enough when required, and the President body in itself was decent. The interior was basic, but good nevertheless. Without these buses, I wouldn't be into buses. Most first generation low floor deckers, in my opinion, were pretty good anyway, but as these buses were the ones that got me into buses, they have to be the favourite.


Lewis:


Yorkshire Coastliner 3637 at Goathland on a Whitby 840 service.
(© Lewis Nagle)

Next it's the sod who used to live in London but now studies up north. Having up till now mainly been on commercial bus services in the Home Counties (see my previous posts on services in Bucks & Berks) and then to the south of the capital in Crawley & Brighton, I naturally made it my task to go on more exploratory journeys and where better to start with the nationally famous Transdev Blazefield empire across the north? Last summer I was able to try out the Coastliner 843 to Scarborough, a tremendous high-pace ride through the Yorkshire countryside as well as the famous #the36, the WitchWay X43 and what is now the Aireline 60. Transdev pride themselves in high-quality services with a classy bus spec, friendly drivers and fantastic routes.
The latest in my adventures across the north saw me finally doing the best of the Yorkshire Coastliner services: the 840 to Whitby. A single Transdev DayTripperPlus is all one needs to bus it from Manchester to Whitby although it's a long journey, around the 5 hour mark.
The 840 is well worth it though, a superb scenic journey starting in Leeds and ploughing through the countryside to Tadcaster (with its bridge now reinstated since last year), the beautiful city of York, Malton and then out to Pickering, Thornton-le-Dale and Whitby. It's worth noting that on my journey, because it was a Sunday, the Leeds-Malton bit was a connecting 843. The scenery through the Yorkshire Moors is nothing short of stunning and the route even has to negotiate 25% inclines around Goathland, where the above picture was taken.


The same bus as above, now returning to York & Leeds on a small break at Malton.
Note the countdown on the destination display; a superb feature which I'm hoping we'll see more of in the future.
(© Lewis Nagle)

A little something about the buses: they're Volvo B5TL based Wright Gemini 3 double deckers new last December. Whatever your opinion is on the new face styling, it certainly suits the two-tone blue livery here. Inside the blue theme continues, with standard seating downstairs and high-backed coach-style seats upstairs. Tables, USB charging points and free wi-fi are available. The vehicles are even double-glazed so all of my journeys were remarkably toasty! The 5-litre Volvo engine copes fantastically on flats and downhill, regularly hitting its speed limiter at 56 mph, however as soon as you're going uphill it's much less happy. The bodywork by Wright has a real classy finish to it - and is very quiet on the move - but as ever rattles and squeaks still present a problem. It's an insult to the hours of thought gone into designing this spec for the bus to then rattle.
I don't wish to end on a negative note so I won't; I've been very happy working alongside the blog team for the last 6 years and hoping to many more! Lots of exciting things coming in 2018 too...


Jacek:


17564 on Route 177
(© Jacek Herominski)

Well, this is an obvious one. My favourite buses are what I grew up with. Even if one company ordered the same type back then, every batch always had its own character, its own sound, as a result of the varied specs everyone had. Nowadays I like all the first gen low floor deckers equally, but back then I was a Trident person. Which is why I've chosen my two favourite batches of Tridents.
The 52 plate is a Euro3 3-speed one, which were always my favourite ones for their musical Voith and the amount they thrashed up hills. Second place is represented by that Y reg. These Euro2 ZFs replaced a batch I didn't like, and came after my 52reg were cascaded away so basically took their place in my heart. That sounded overly romantic. Oh well, it is Valentine's Day soon.... (No)


17441 on Route 136
(© Jacek Herominski)


Omar:

First Aberdeen 62166/Y631RSA | Route 3G | Mastrick Terminus | 14/02/2017
© Mohammad-Omar Diab El-Arab

Now, the resident crazy traveller. I'm the sort of person that loves a bit of everything, be it the cityscapes offered by routes down in London, the sea views of the Brighton & Hove Coasters or the weaving in and out of hills on West Yorkshire bus routes. In short, I love the variety you get from travelling on buses. Now, some buses suit this sort of variety better than others, ranging from being completely adaptable to being horrible to travel on! My personal favourite is the Mercedes-Benz O405N2, yet I don't actually have any photos of them. However, my second option isn't really all too bad, and that's the Wright Renown-bodied Volvo B10BLE, coupled to a ZF box of course.

Transdev Burnley & Pendle 1057/Y157HRN | Route M4 | Colne, Market Street
© Mohammad-Omar Diab El-Arab

A 5-speed ZF box coupled to Volvo's throaty 9.6 litre D10A engine churning out 245bhp not only sits happy in cities and calmer environments. It also provides a reliable and powerful base for country routes such as the Mainline M4, which was run by a mix of B7RLEs and B10BLEs when I rode it. The ride quality is usually very smooth and comfortable, and the bodywork is incredibly sturdy and largely rattle-free, a far cry from the current range of Wrightbus products. Sadly, a large number of them saw the end of the line before 2016 as the DDA rules kicked in to withdraw all non-compliant single decks from service. The ones that are DDA compliant, as well as the ones that have received modifications to become compliant, still soldier on to this day, some being as old as 18 years old this year! Since their introduction in 1997, as a low floor version of the already popular B10B, they have become the backbone of many towns and cities, and helped to kick-start the low-floor revolution, all while being generally reliable and loved by drivers, engineers, enthusiasts and passengers alike.


Alisha:


DOE38 passing through in Roundshaw in May 2017, sporting the iconic, sadly now lost livery
(© Alisha Juszczyk)

My favourite London bus type has got to be the Olympus - be it East Lancs, Darwen or Optare - doesn't matter. A top class double-decker body, and no wonder also a popular choice for tour buses thanks to their giant front glass upstairs. Out of all the chassis available for it, good old Dennis Trident 2 proves the ultimate fit. Shame only 55 ever ended up in London - the DOE class under Go-Ahead, and the singleton EO1 under CT+ which has since left the city and moved north. All of which had comfortable seating provided, alongside with spacious layout, and subdued lighting that creates a relaxing atmosphere.


The same DOE standing at Morden about to start its journey on N155, a great route to test their abilities - taken February 2017
(© Alisha Juszczyk)

The low blind-box provides an acceptable means to rest your legs, and even something as trivial as the side windows that slant down to maximise the view out - it all shows what a great bodywork design this one is. Another clever feature I've always liked is the curved windshield on the upper deck which yields the following effect - at night you don't get any unnecessary reflections of the bus' interior when facing forward, unless you look up that is - and being able to inspect what's behind you without having to physically turn around is very handy. They are also mechanically sound, fast buses, and fortunately with kickdown enabled to make scaling of the numerous hills on their usual routes efficient. Their scarcity makes them even more precious and valued!

Tommy:

 

The bus type I had planned to talk about was the Plaxton President bodied bus, the type being local to me in Harrow since the early 2000s, TP/Ls then latterly VP/Ls at Harrow Weald with a batch of 17 still in use (what will be the last VPs left in the Metroline fleet, VP612-628!).  This would have been the perfect excuse to repeat my picture of TP446 from the 'Fifth Year' blog post, however, the President type has already been covered so to save repetition, I thought I'd do this piece about my next favourite bus type.

Now this is the ALX400 bodied vehicle that in London can be found with either an AD Trident or Volvo B7TL engine, my preference being the Trident version but both types I rate equally.  I cannot quite put my finger on why I rate ALX400s as much as I do bar it being an all-round pleasant bus.  The past three years have seen me use both the Trident and Volvo examples in North West London on a fairly regular basis which has cemented these vehicles' place on my preference list.  But, the ALX400 has also been mentioned in this post, and for the same reasons as above I do not feel it worth while that I discuss the same vehicle twice.
 

So, I shall move onto my next choice, and it's onto a bus that I have not really thought much about, but it's one that has dominated the London scene, but like the other types mentioned above, is fast becoming an endangered species in London.  The type is the Plaxton Pointer Dennis Dart SLF.  In its prime, the Dennis Dart was one of the most popular single deck buses from the late 1990s through to the mid 2000s.  They were just as popular as the Enviro 200 (and MMC "upgrade") has become since.
For me the Dart is aesthetically pleasing on the eye, and always had seats with generous leg room and decent amounts of seat padding.  I found the Darts rattled less than the E200s which replaced them meaning the Darts' fabulously whiny engine could be easily heard!  The lack of interior refurbishment in later years have also given the Darts a good nostalgia feel too, though that is not to everyone's taste!

 

London Sovereign DPS636 and Metroline DP1012 in Harrow.  March 2017
© Tommy Cooling
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127662272@N07/33241614882/in/album-72157677403851741/

  

When I think of a proper single deck bus, there aren't many types that come to mind, but it is the Dart that comes to mind first.  My exposure to Darts has been nowhere near that to the President or ALX400, but enough for me to rate it as high as third on my list.  The majority of my exposure had been the 02 plated London Sovereign Darts at Harrow (SO) on the H9/10.  Latterly I got very well acquainted with the Armchair imports at West Perivale, DP1009-1013, that made numerous appearances on the 395 in 2016 and 2017 after the E6 moved garages from West Perivale to Greenford.  Arriva Garston also has a small fleet of Darts (PDLs) that have transferred in from other London garages.  These have made very rare visits to the 258 and 340, with many other outings on the Harrow circular routes H18/19.

 

Arriva London PDL117 in Harrow.  February 2016
© Tommy Cooling
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127662272@N07/24674218834/in/album-72157665994971606/

 

There are more Darts still kicking around in London than the President class (and many many more with provincial operators), but these will all sadly be bowing out of service within the next year or so if not before when London's new ULEZ emission zones comes into effect.

 

Go-Abellio

Operator changes on Saturday 11th November saw routes 45 and 188 swap between Abellio London and Go-Ahead.

Route 45 Go-Ahead, London Central -> Abellio London

The up-until-recently PVL and WVL dominated route passed across to Abellio London from Go-Ahead and was given brand new E400-H MMCs which are based at Abellio's Walworth garage.

This was the first time that route 45 had seen a change of operator having run from Camberwell since 1985 (LT times). In the closing days of Go-Ahead operation, the 2002 Presidents were withdrawn and allowed Go-Ahead's new EHs and WHVs for the 176 and 188 to be bedded in. On top of existing MHVs and EHs that were common in the route, this mean that the 45 had gone 100% hybrid. This was also due to new low-emission zones that came into affect along the route. It was a slight surprise to see Go-Ahead's latest fleet of vehicles containing blinds for a route that they were just about to lose!

WVL260 outside St. Pancras on stand, exhibiting the more normal allocation prior to the hybrid conversion.
The route passes to Abellio London's Walworth garage.
© Tommy Cooling

MHV54 and an EH stand outside St Pancras Station waiting for their next trips on the 45, on the last day of Go-Ahead operation.
(© Aubrey)

E400-H MMC 2580 shows off the 45s operator change at Elephant & Castle.
© Tommy Cooling



Mimicking the scenes of the 45 under Go-Ahead, Abellio 2599 outside St. Pancras International Station.
© Tommy Cooling

Route 188  Abellio London -> Go-Ahead, London Central

Route 188 was notable for featuring the few remaining Volvo chassised vehicles in the Abellio London fleet. With the loss of the route, these will soon be withdrawn from the London fleet.

Abellio London Volvo B7TL Eclipse Gemini 9058 approaches Aldwych on a Route 188 service.
The route passes close to Go-Ahead's Morden Wharf garage.
© Tommy Cooling

The E40Hs, 2401-2413, are also gone off lease, but some of the Volvos are staying at WL until the 343 goes in February and 172 in March. The route saw a mixture of Geminis and E400s.


Abellio London's 2406 stops at Surrey Quays Leisure Park on the 188.
(© Jacek)

As Walworth did have many double deckers, it was not uncommon to see buses from different batches, or other double decker types appearing on the 188.

Abellio 2442 circles St. George's Circus in January 2017.
© Tommy Cooling

Go-Ahead London now use WHV-class Volvo B5LH/Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 buses (WHV168-196) from a fairly new garage near to the line of route. Morden Wharf (MG) replaced Mandela Way (MW), and is located near to North Greenwich.

WHV173 is one of the new Gemini 3s bought for the take up of the 188 by Go-Ahead, based at Morden Wharf.
© Tommy Cooling

The move of the 188 to London Central returns the route back to Go-Ahead London after 12 years. The last time the 188 was with Go-Ahead, it was with London General from Stockwell back in 2005. It was last with London Central in 2004, when Camberwell had half the allocation of the route.


The second night 188 operated by Go-Ahead London was WHV170, seen at Waterloo.
(© Aubrey)

The Volvo/Wright combination seems to have been passed on somewhat through two contract changes, as Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Geminis were present both at Stockwell, and Walworth. Now with the hybrid B5LH/Wright Eclipse Gemini 3, the 188 will continue to have this combination for at least the next 5 years.

WHV168 on stand at Russell Square.
© Tommy Cooling

We now join Jacek:
As a local to the route, I have mixed feelings about the 188 takeover, but we'll get to that in a bit. The 188's old Geminis weren't known for their quality, to say the least. Some of them were good, but some were in very bad shape. Their time has passed so I'm not too sad about them going. I liked the E40Hs, but a few of these were pretty clapped out by the end of the contract as well.


9019 was one of the more worn out buses, seen here at North Greenwich
(© Jacek)

The new WHVs go well, have comfy enough seats, working air cooling, rather importantly for this time of year working heating, and are pretty boring buses overall. Don't get excited for stray workings - the only other type of double decker MG have is B9TLs for the 129, which aren't blinded for the 188 yet. Indeed, the only possibility for rares other than that is the Camberwell Night Spare.


WHV193 passes the Elephant & Castle former gyrotary system on the first day of the 188 back at London Central.
(© Aubrey)

Now, the thorny subject of service. There have been plenty of internet arguments over how well Abellio ran the 188. In my personal experience, I never had to wait for it too long, and I never had issues with getting curtailed at short notice, although others have complained about this. And most importantly, when traffic caused other routes to collapse it could still run a reliable enough service. My only complaint was the 10 minute long driver changes at Elephant & Castle. These are done at Canada Water under GAL. Of course, as with most bus routes the service went downhill in the last month before Go-Ahead took over.

WHV168 at Canada Water, presumably after a driver change.
(© Jacek)

On GAL's first day most routes around central London were a mess due to the Lord Mayor's show, with buses unable to cross Waterloo Bridge. This meant a lot of traffic sought alternate routes and gridlocked the roads leading to the Rotherhithe Tunnel, in turn causing half the buses on the 188 to get stuck in traffic in Bermondsey. Typical of any operator's first day.

The first day saw this bus curtailed at Waterloo, which was very crowded due to the closure of the bridge. WHV178 is seen standing at Tenison Way.
(© Aubrey)

The new timetable includes a small frequency reduction from 8bph to 7.5bph (or every 8 minutes in human-speak) and an increase in running time to comply with 20mph limits, as is the norm for TfL nowadays. Unfortunately, as with any route this happens to, buses are running at a snail's pace now. As an example, I've missed a 188 at Bricklayer's Arms, got on a 47 5 minutes later, and caught it up after a journey less than 15 minutes long at Canada Water. This section is prone to gridlock at the drop of a hat but at the time I rode it, it was 9pm and there was barely any traffic.

One could argue that loose timetables help the service be more reliable. However, in the early days of running a bus service this goes out the window and it inevitably collapses. It's had plenty of curtailments and has bunched really badly, including one night where the eastbound service was all bunched within 15min of Canada Water. Some of the buses have had teething issues as well - looking on LVF I noticed one bus due to leave North Greenwich, which disappeared off of LVF 20 minutes later having not moved, and was replaced by one that was taken off an hour before, curtailed to Canada Water. One of the buses (I won't say which) also pulls away really slowly, revving a lot but not producing much power.

WVH188 on the 188 circling St. George's Circus.
© Tommy Cooling

WVH188 again on the 188, just over an hour after the shot above, in the shadow of the Dome.
© Tommy Cooling

As with most takeovers, this should hopefully settle down in a few months once GAL get used to running it. It's a big win for them, and a difficult route to handle due to all the traffic hotspots it passes through. Go-Ahead have run this route before, from Stockwell until 2005 when Travel London won it. They did fine back then, but traffic conditions have changed drastically in the past 12 years so good luck to them.

Post by Tommy, Jacek and Aubrey
All rights reserved © WLTMTB 2017

Please do not reproduce any of these images without permission

5 Years of the WLTM Transport Blog

13/02/12, 0809hrs. That was when the WLTMTB, back then as the WLTM Blog was first formed.
5 years later, 11 people have come to the blog. Some have stayed, some have gone. But what's here is something that I just can't imagine back then.

This year, we are giving you a tad about a recent/notable photo that we have taken over the past few years, and a tad about ourselves.

Aubrey:

(© Aubrey)

This photo may be each an allocated working on these two routes, but without these two bus routes, I wouldn't have ended up as a transport enthusiast, or be the fairly interesting person that I am today. SP7 on the 111 is a normal working, with the bus starting out at Shepherd's Bush for the 148. Through allocation at Hounslow Heath on the H91 (my third favourite bus route), it is now at Hounslow, allocated to all double decker routes. SP170 on the N9 is actually a part of a batch for the 111. Both are OmniCity double deckers with different chassis/engine combinations. SP7 is a N94UD, SP170 is a N230UD.

The two routes are personally important, and thus are my favourite routes. The 111 used to be the way I'd go to get to Heathrow Airport, where I used to watch planes in the early 2000s. Through the various buses on the 111 (B7TL with ALX400, President bodies, as well as the odd step entrance bus), I started to become interested in buses, along with other transport modes. Since then, I have gained more knowledge, experience and time to the point where I felt I could write about it. However, I started a tad late, in 2012, when I did think about it since about 2007! Oh well, I finally started to gain friends who were enthusiasts, and since then, things have gotten on pretty well. University might have hampered the ability to write posts as frequently as I have done before, but I've still got the motivation and the passion to continue with the blog. My night photos have only gotten better over time, with increased practice on all-night night bus observations, as seen on Flickr. The blog has grown massively over the past few years, and it's been a great, albeit slightly rough ride! I never knew the ramblings about transport would mean something, but the days out associated with this blog were nothing short of amazing!
The WLTMTB wouldn't be where it is today without the rest of the team, past or present.
A group of friends who are pretty awesome in some way or another!

Thus thanks are in order for James, Lewis, Josh, Tom, Jacek, Anthony, Omar, Tommy, Felix and Patrick for the past, present and the future of the WLTMTB, as well as the wonderful time as friends!

Lewis:

(© Lewis)

Introducing the VHR, a somewhat prototypical vehicle of which there are currently only 6 iterations. They’re a modge of the standard Volvo B5LH / Gemini 3 and the New Bus for London, which iron out the functional flaws of the latter and the ghastly design of the former. I really like them – they’re a mix of something traditionally London (the interior, for example, is gorgeous) but yet they’re a conventional bus.
This particular vehicle, VHR45203 had had a bit of a history even before it had entered TFL service. Prior to this picture it appeared at the Bus Driver of the Year 2016 event in Blackpool and was next seen on the 23A at Imber.
The photo captured above was the bus’s first London service working – yes it entered service on school route 618 and not the high-profile 13 as was expected. It had also had a mini-makeover with new fleetcodes and logos, as well as a new registration – LJ16MUV from LJ16EXD.
The rest of the 6 VHRs gradually entered service in the following couple of months allocated to route 13. Since then a strange reallocation has seen them switch to the 183 – quite why I’m unsure but rumours have suggested it’s to do with the fact that LTs have are open-boarding whereas these do not, leading to fare-dodging. Whether or not they will move to the 139 in April remains to be seen.
With the new Mayor stopping orders for the bigger LT, I somewhat doubt if operators will choose to opt for the lookalike SRM given its political affluence, so perhaps there will only ever be 6 of these great vehicles. Others seem to prefer the more popular ADL version – the Enviro400 City – but I think this is far classier. A London bus on a Volvo chassis, where else do you look?!

This is my contribution to the 5th year post on this blog. I don’t write much these days, but with work becoming increasingly more challenging it’s difficult to find time to do other things. I’m also becoming less inclined to follow the updates within London, vehicles are all very similar and an operator change simply isn’t particularly interesting any more unless I’ve a personal connection to it. If anyone reading this feels the same as I do, find another interesting place. I often venture out into Buckinghamshire, where buses travel far faster and are generally better vehicles too! Commercial operations are seriously taking hold at the moment to grab as many passengers as they can what with constant government and council cuts, so make the most of it!
I hope to publish a thorough Carousel update in the coming months, which as most of you know is the company I like to involve myself with. I hope you enjoy reading the rest of the 5th year post and what my fantastic friends and co-writers have to say!

Josh:

(© Josh)

It’s been 5 years for the blog and almost as long for me too. I’m Josh, I joined the blog back in 2013 and have been posting ever since….. Yeah that was the plan at least.
I’ve not written for the blog in a very long time, this certainly being the first piece in at least a year. My interests over time have changed, moving away from the bus focused side that the blog mainly covers. I’ve also been rather occupied these last few seasons not finding any spare time to write, which I do enjoy doing.
The photo I have chosen is this. The first 68 set to venture past Oxford Parkway in passenger service. (This involved a 3am coach just for this working). Being my favourite class of locomotive, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. Even with only a half hour nap on the coach!
I have some spare time now these days, so I hope to get round to writing for the blog again. I hope you continue to read the blog, we couldn’t be here without you.

Jacek:

(© Jacek)

I joined the blog a bit later than most of the others (still about 2 years ago now) so with that and the amount I write on here, I may not be the most prolific blogger. Generally I like to wander out to capture old (more interesting) buses out and about, or just for fun. So I'm not always there at most service changes. As times change I've grown less interested in London's bus scene and more into buses outside London as I find journeys there more enjoyable. Then again, which enthusiast doesn't?

I'm quite a nostalgic person, as anyone who knows me can tell. So instead of choosing my personal best photo, I chose that slightly blurred photo of a Euro2 Trident on the 47. It seems like only yesterday that these lovely buses were dominating east and south-east London, practically every corner I took I'd see one of them. By the time that picture was taken, they were going the way of the Titans and Olympians they had replaced back in the late 90s/early 2000s. So that was a good excuse to spend a chilly Christmas Eve morning outside. As the Flickr caption hints at, this was the last Euro2 Trident in TL, and later became one of the last in London running rail replacement extras on the 47. It's now sadly turned into Coke cans. Tridents in general, along with the other first-generation low floor buses, are largely vanishing from London. A shame, the newer stuff is less interesting *cough* 1000 almost identical LTs *cough*

Omar:

(© Omar)
I honestly think this is one of the best shots I've taken. Playing around with your camera does indeed get you somewhere! I may as well put this here as well, not only for the purposes of being here for the sake of it, but also as a reminder that not just the blog itself, but each member here, grew and prospered.

So, I'm pretty much the newbie here. It's pretty much safe to say I've slotted in here really quickly and came to get along very comfortably with the other members (okay that was a bit of a lie, I've known the members here for a while and bear in mind that the blog is indeed formed of a group of friends!) It's quite unbelievable how quick 5 years can pass. It feels like only yesterday when I was in year 5 revising for my SATs, and now I'm pretty much the resident crazy traveler of my family. Traveling has always been a big thing in my life and my love of traveling lured me into becoming a transport enthusiast. Upon joining the blog, I could finally put my wanderlust to good use. Sometimes, I'd travel alone, but it's truly best with others, and rarely does it get better than with other members on the blog!

Tommy:

(© Tommy)

Whilst it's nowhere near the best picture I've taken at night, the sheer rareness of the working more then makes up for the picture quality.
Here we see Metroline TP446 on the only occasion that a TP slipped out onto the 16 at Kilburn Station back in November 2015. This was at the time when TPs were still in use at Cricklewood Garage following the 558 Victoria line rail replacement in the summer, but their appearance on anything other than the 32 or 210 was extremely rare. The TPs were being used as cover for a lack of LT vehicles that were due for the 168, which was running with hybrid E400s at the time. The handful of TPs were mainly on the 32 and the 210, but one had made its way onto both the 139 and 189 too during their short spell at Cricklewood. Those of you who follow me on Flickr may also notice a link to this post and my page; the link being my Flickr handle which is TP446, taken from this very working!

The TPs arrived during my early days at Cricklewood and consolidated my liking of President bodied buses. This was a time when my local route, the 140, was fully allocated with Plaxton President Volvos! All the TPs that were at Cricklewood within their first month or so of entering TfL service had been copped by me; both riding and on camera.

Finally I should probably give a little about me too! I have the luck of both being interested in transport, or working for it too. By trade I design bus blinds, both smartblind paper and LED, in addition to service maps and route performances, at present.
My interest in transport began from a very early age and back then consisted mainly of buses. Going back I can still remember the old London United 140 Leylands, plus the mixture of Sovereign cream and blue, and orange on the 114! When I got my first camera nearly five years ago, I mainly focused on trains, and the London Underground in particular. Since I started working for the buses I rediscovered my bus passion and switched back to covering bus stories, though I do my best to keep the trains side of me going too!
I am also one of the newest members of the blog, and I'm coming up to my five month anniversary on the team too! I have already done a couple of posts, the BusExpo one being my first! My main area of coverage is NW London ranging from new vehicles to service changes, to just your everyday shots! Both Central London, and parts of SW London can come under my radar too.
Here's to more posts in the future and to however many more years on the blog. Who knows, this could still be my picture of choice come the Ten Year anniversary ...

And now, we introduce with an expansion into Essex, two new members of the WLTM Transport Blog!:

Felix:

(CC Felix)

I'm Felix, I hail from Southend in Essex and I enjoy photography and computing, and obviously transport. I really love the light in this photo. The sunset looks absolutely gorgeous, and the street lighting provides some lovely orange hues. The water reflects the sky, and the Air Line cuts through it, which, despite not being pushed by the new Mayor, continues to ferry tourists across the river.

Patrick:

(© Patrick)

I waited with much excitement for the ‘New Bus for London’ to be rolled out at the time I took this photograph. I was eager to see the return of the Conductor or “CSA” as TfL put it. Route 24 was one of my local routes during the time the NBfL was introduced. Having lived most of my life in the Mornington Crescent area, I familiarised myself with the variety of routes that passed near my street, many of which now too operate with NBfLs.

I’m Patrick, a London Transport enthusiast but also interested in trains and buses outside Greater London. I travel around London on occasion, by road as well as rail.

It's been a wonderful 5 years being on the internet, and members old and new have come and gone, but the WLTM Transport Blog soldiers on. We definitely would not have done it without you, the readers. Thank you all, from the eight-strong WLTM Transport Blog team; Aubrey, Lewis, Josh, Jacek, Omar, Tommy, Felix and Patrick.