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 New Routemaster onroute 211 in October 2024 | |
| Parent | Transport UK Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | 21 May 2009; 16 years ago (2009-05-21) (as Abellio London) |
| Headquarters | Camberwell |
| Service area | Greater London |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Routes | 73 (June 2024) |
| Depots | 6 |
| Fleet | 800 (March 2023) |
| Website | www.transportukbus.com |
Transport UK London Bus, formerlyAbellio London, is a bus company operating services under contract toTransport for London inGreater London, England.
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The origins of Transport UK London Bus can be traced back to June 1998, whenNational Express commenced operating routesC1 and211 under theTravel London brand. In August 2000, National Express sold the business toLimebourne, who in July 2001 sold out toConnex. In February 2004, National Express repurchased the business.[1] Travel London operated contracts on behalf ofTransport for London (TfL).
On 21 May 2009, National Express sold Travel London toAbellio. The sale included 36 TfL-tendered services. All vehicles, depots and staff were included.[2][3] On 30 October 2009 the business was rebranded as Abellio London.[4][5]
Abellio London was included in the sale of Abellio's United Kingdom businesses toTransport UK Group in February 2023.[6][7] The new group began the process of rebranding Abellio London to Transport UK London Bus from early 2024, with the rebrand officially taking effect from 2 March 2024.[8]
Transport UK London Bus operates 74 TfL bus routes from six garages.[8] Beddington, Battersea and Walworth are operated by Transport UK London Bus Limited and Twickenham, Armstrong Way and Dawley Road by Transport UK West London Bus Limited.
Armstrong Way garage operates routes195,207,427,482,618,E5,E7,E10,E11,H28,H32 andN207.
Battersea garage operates routes24,27,133,156,159,211,306,322,337,344,345,415,485,639,670,C3,G1,N27 andN133.[9]
This garage was established by Q-Drive in the late 1990s, hence the QB code.[10] Travel London's original bus garage was situated further north towardsStewarts Lane railway depot which was the home of theGatwick Express, a rail franchise then operated by its parent National Express. Connex moved into these premises after purchasing the Limebourne business in July 2001.[citation needed] In December 2015, Battersea garage started operatingroute 159.[11]
Beddington garage operates routes109,130,201,270,315,367,404,407,433,464,655,N109,S3 andS4.[9]
Dawley Road garage operates routes278,350,E6,U5,U7 andU9.[9]
Twickenham garage operates routes111,267,285,465,481D,490,671,969,H20,H25,H26,R68 andR70.[9] On 2 October 2021,route 290 passed toLondon United. Brand newWright GB Kite ElectrolinerBEVs were first noted onroute R70 on 12 March 2024.[12]
Walworth garage operates routes3,45,63,68,363,381,C10,P5,P13,N3,N63,N68 andN381.[9]
Originally a site acquired by theLondon County Council for its electric trams, it was known asCamberwell Tram depot until 1950, when its name was changed to Walworth to accommodate the arrival of motor buses replacing the garage's tram fleet,[13] as well to avoid confusion with Camberwell garage, located opposite this garage.[14] Major rebuilding took place during the 1950s to repair bomb damage from World War II, during which time some buses were worked out of Camberwell.
In the late 1960s, the garage assumed operation of theRed Arrow routes, usingAEC Merlins and laterLeyland Nationals on the service until the garage was closed in 1985.[15] Following the closure of the Victoria andAsh Grove garages, from 1987 Walworth was reopened to operate the Red Arrow routes for a short time until the new Waterloo garage was ready.
During the early 1990s, the garage once again re-opened, this time for the Londonlinks operation ofroutes 78 and176. TheCowie Group undertook a major restructure a few years later, which once again saw closure of Walworth garage in 1997.
The garage lay dormant on lease byGo-Ahead Group for six years until late 2003, when work started on refurbishing the garage forTravel London following contract gains for routes in South London. When reopened on 24 February 2005 byMayor of LondonKen Livingstone, it was the first bus garage in London to be powered withsolar panels.[16][17]
Southall garage opened on 29 July 2017, when routes E1, E5, E7 and E9 were transferred from Hayes.[18][19] It was replaced by Armstrong Way (GW) garage in July 2019.[20]
This garage closed in late 2021, transferring its routes to Armstrong Way (GW) garage.Hayes garage used to operate and hold London bus routes278,350,482,H28,U5,U7 andU9.[9] It moved to a new site on Dawley Road in 2021.[21]
As of March 2024, Transport UK London Bus operates a fleet of 848 buses.[22]
Media related toTransport UK London Bus at Wikimedia Commons
Bus operators inLondon | |
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