Society news

This page gives up-to-date major news items to supplement our monthly newsletter, •The London Bus• (TLB). Items noted here will be incorporated in the next issue of TLB in greater detail. Reports more than a month old and already reported in TLB are deleted. Each issue of TLB is typically 40 pages containing references to around 300 routes and 1000 vehicles, together with the business and political news, the publicity output of the companies, forthcoming exhibitions and rallies, and much more. To get the full picture, why not join now? Go to the Membership Page for details.

If you need to contact us with anything to do with membership, subscriptions to TLB or LBM and queries over postal sales, email lotsmemsec@gmail.com and it will be passed to the correct person. Reports for TLB/LBM or queries to other society officers can go via the TLB Editor lotstlbeditor@gmail.com and it will be passed to the correct person.

For queries about Postal Sales, please email lotspostalsales@gmail.com. This E mail address may also be used for ordering from Postal Sales if wishing to pay by direct debit bank transfer - for details see Page 1 of the Sales Bulletin.

Meetings and Events

We meet at The Gallery at Alan Baxter, 77 Cowcross Street, Farringdon. A three minute walk from Farringdon Station* (Met/Circle/H&C lines, Elizabeth line and Thameslink).

Doors open at 6pm, meetings start at 6.30pm and finish at 8pm, then Q&As and sales stand but all out by 9pm when the venue is locked.

12 May 2025: Keith Wood will give a photo show entitled "40 Years as a Bus Nut".

16 June 2025: AGM.

*Exit from Farringdon station (Met side), turn east and go up Cowcross Street until you reach the Leon restaurant. Opposite there is a passageway, cross the cobbled courtyard to the far right corner and go down the stairs to the basement meeting room known as 'The Gallery'. We would advise that you do not drive to the venue, parking space is rare and charges apply for 24 hours. There are several coffee shops and a Wetherspoons on Farringdon Road.

The London Bus (TLB)

New and recent LOTS publications

For queries about Postal Sales, please email lotspostalsales@gmail.com. This email address may also be used for ordering from Postal Sales if wishing to pay by direct debit bank transfer - for details see Page 1 of the Sales list.

Please address your orders to LOTS Postal Sales, Lombard Business Park, 8 Lombard Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 3TZ. Orders are processed weekly. Make sure that the 'Postal Sales' name is included prominently, so we can give your order our best attention. You can use the Sales List printed off from this website this list to order, or a letter is perfectly acceptable. In either case, please don’t staple cheques to the form.

SUP-24K London Transport Service Vehicles (£6.00).
Updated to 7th March 2025, listing all the cars, vans and lorries used by TfL, LUL, LBSL and the bus companies.

SUP-39E TfL’s Bus Operators - Fleet Allocations and PVRs (£6.00).
Updated to 7th March 2025, this lists the fleets of all TfL bus operators (in fleetnumber order), followed by a list of all TfL routes showing the garages, types and PVRs.

SUP-45B London Bus Garages Allocation and Routes (£6.00).
List of all London bus garages with route and bus allocations as at August 2024. 60 pages with 8 colour photos. View sample pages.

SUP-46A London Transport Trolleybuses - Allocations and Disposals 1948-1962 (free digital download). Allocation histories and disposals for all LT trolleybuses. 102 pages.

SUP-47A London’s Advert Buses 1969-2024 (£8.00).
All known all-over advert buses in the London area (not London Country). Over 1000 buses and over 4000 adverts listed, with dates. 76 pages, 18 colour photos.
View sample pages.

London Bus Review 2022 Greater London and Beyond (£17.00).
A4 glossy, 80 pages, 135 colour photographs with extensive captions. This is the ORIGINAL annual Review made with about 50 years’ experience.

LOTS London Bus & Tram Fleetbook 2025 (£9.00). The usual 128 pages packed with information and updated to 7th March 2025.

See the Publications page for details of LOTS publications or the Sales Bulletin on the Sales page for our current stocklist.

Vacancies

Nil.

Non-members may wish to look at a sample issue of TLB.
Hopefully this will whet your appetite for joining LOTS!

Industry and general news

Major news items to supplement our monthly newsletter:

Tuesday 15 April

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

New electric vehicles may enter service after the contract start date, dependent on infrastructure and/ or vehicle delivery timescales.

The hybrid vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards. 

The start and end dates for the above contracts are detailed in the following table:

Sunday 13 April

1. The new Silvertown Tunnel opened on 7th April and is used by three bus routes. New Superloop SL4 and extended route 129 both use new Go-Ahead London BYD electrics (EBD55-99), temporarily supported by a few of the earlier batch EBD1-18. The latter had been at River Road (RR) for school routes but are intended to eventually go to New Cross (NX) for route 321. The third route is numbered (lettered?) SCS and is the bicycle carrying shuttle using Stagecoach London BYD/ADL E200s in a striking silver blue and green livery.

2. Stagecoach London route D8 from Lea Interchange (LI) was unexpectedly converted to electric operation on 5th April using Volvo BZL/MCV double-deckers that had been in store since delivery last autumn. The D8 had been scheduled to get a batch of new Wright StreetDeck Electroliners in time for its contract renewal in September 2025, while the Volvo/MCVs are intended for routes 277 and D7 from Ash Grove (HK).

3. Two Superloop routes started renewed contracts on 12th April. Both the SL5 (Arriva London) and SL7 (Go-Ahead London) are due to get electric buses but will continue with their elderly diesels for a few more months.

4. There are no TfL route changes planned for next weekend (19th April), other than a revised timetable on the E2.

5. First Bus logos are rapidly being applied to the buses taken over from RATP-Dev at the end of February. The inner London garages appear to be complete, with just a few RATP logos still to be seen at outer garages such as Harrow and Hounslow.

Monday 7 April

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

Route	Current Operator	New Operator	PVR	Vehicles
3/N3	Transport UK London	Transport UK London	15	Existing New Routemaster
79	London Sovereign	London Sovereign	14	Existing hybrid double deck
173/673	Stagecoach East London	Stagecoach East London	TBC	New electric double deck
179	Stagecoach East London	Stagecoach East London	13	Existing hybrid double deck
193	Stagecoach East London	Stagecoach East London	11	Existing diesel single deck
224	London United	Metroline	8	Existing diesel single deck
292	Metroline	Uno	7	Electric double deck
456	London General	London General	5	Existing diesel single deck
469	London Central	London Central	10	Existing diesel single deck
616	Stagecoach East London	Arriva London North	2	Existing hybrid double deck
675	Arriva London North	Arriva London North	1	New electric double deck
B12	London Central	London Central	7	New electric single deck
B15	Arriva London North	London Central	6	New electric single deck

New electric vehicles may enter service after the contract start date, dependent on infrastructure and/ or vehicle delivery timescales.

The diesel and hybrid vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards. 

The start and end dates for the above contracts are detailed in the following table:

Sunday 6 April

NEW LOTS Publications:

London Bus and Tram Fleetbook 2025 (£9.00). The usual 128 pages packed with information and updated to 7th March 2025.

SUP-24K London Transport Service Vehicles (£6.00). Updated to 7th March 2025, listing all the cars, vans and lorries used by TfL, LUL, LBSL and the bus companies.

SUP-39E TfL’s Bus Operators - Fleet Allocations and PVRs (£6.00). Also updated to 7th March 2025, this lists the fleets of all TfL bus operators (in fleetnumber order), followed by a list of all TfL routes showing the garages, types and PVRs..

Saturday 29 March

1. The first batch of DEL-class StreetDeck Electroliners for Go-Ahead London are now entering service from Sutton garage (A). They will be allocated to route 151, replacing the last of the DOE-class Tridents.

2. Transport UK has put a single new GB Kite Electroliner (1737) into service at Walworth (WL). It was ordered to top-up the allocation on route P5 but will also appear on route C10.

3. Examples of the new Alexander Dennis E100EV and E400EV models are now arriving in London. Arriva will use E400EVs EE1-12 on route SL6 from Monday. Stagecoach London also has E400EVs coming for Superloop work (on the SL3), and these are now undertaking driver training. The first E100EVs are also for Stagecoach, with buses numbered in the 460xx range noted at West Ham garage though due for routes B14 (TB) and W12 (AW).

4. After having just 2 in use since February, more of Arriva London's 11 EKL-class GB Kite Electroliners for route 255 are now making their way south from storage in Merseyside.

5. EBD-class BYD double-deckers for Go-Ahead London are now arriving at Stockwell garage for introduction soon on route 333. These are from the batch originally intended for route 320 (EBD100-113), as that route has already been converted using the batch meant for the 333 (EBD19-34).

6. Go-Ahead London is planning to use the former Clarkes Coaches garage in Lower Sydenham as a base for several single-deck routes. The garage is on Kangley Bridge Road, just a stone's throw from the Stagecoach London depot (KB).

7. Upcoming TfL route changes include a contract renewal on the 263 (which will also see night route N271 renumbered as the N263) from 5th April, with new buses to follow. Then on Monday 7th April, the Silvertown Tunnel is due to open, with new routes SL4 and SCS (bicycle carrier) introduced and route 129 extended to Beckton.

Wednesday 26 March

1. Stagecoach London route 257 from Leyton (T) garage has been converted to electric buses, using Electroliners 82065-82082. Route 242 from Ash Grove (HK) has also partially converted. Although intended to receive Electroliners 82049-82064, these buses had already been "loaned" to other garages (NS and TL), so the 242 is using some of the MCV Volvos ordered for routes 277 and D7 (86199-86207).

2. Metroline has put 7 WDE-class Electroliners into service on route 98 from Willesden (AC). The buses are on loan from Edgware (EW) and will eventually be replaced by new BDE-class BYDs.

3. More redundant Go-Ahead London MEC-class buses have migrated to Dartford for Fastrack work, where there are now 10 in use alongside the ex-Airport examples. Several trainer MECs have been repainted from cream/maroon to two-tone blue with lettering for Go-Ahead Women.

4. To provide sufficient buses for recently-won routes 138 and 225, Stagecoach London has temporarily transferred E200s from Ash Grove (HK) and Barking (BK) to Catford (TL). The HK buses have been replaced by E400s released by Leyton (T), which have partially converted route D6 to double-deck operation.

5. There are lots of route changes this weekend (29th March), including the withdrawal of route R6 and the transfer of Superloop SL6 from Go-Ahead to Arriva. The SL6 is Mon-Fri peak hours only, so will start on 31st March, hopefully with new EE-class E400EV buses. New buses are also specified for routes B14, R1, R2, R3, R4, R8 and R11, but in reality these will follow later on.

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

The diesel vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards.

The start and end dates for the above contracts are detailed in the following table:

Friday 14 March

LBSL intends to enter into new contracts for the following routes with the operators listed below:

New electric vehicles may enter service after the contract start date, dependent on infrastructure and/ or vehicle delivery timescales.

The diesel and hybrid vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards. 

The start and end dates for the above contracts are detailed in the following table:

Sunday 9 March

1. The first electric bus to work from Stagecoach London's Leyton garage (T) was 82078, which did a couple of afternoon turns on school route 616 this week. This is one of a batch of 18 Electroliners (82065-82082) due to convert route 257.

2. Although delivered nearly a year ago, the final members of Go-Ahead London's large SEe class (BYD single-deckers) are only now entering service. SEe291-303 were ordered for route 325 (RR), and 3 of the final 4 (SEe295/7/8) entered service this week, leaving just SEe296 to emerge.

3. Arriva London has ordered 79 more BYD B11E02 double-deckers. ED67-145 will be allocated to Croydon routes 60, 405, 412, 466 and SL5. There will also be some BYD B12 single-deckers, with 14 for route 312 (EYX1-14) and an unconfirmed quantity for route 166.

4. Go-Ahead London has ordered 25 Volvo BZL/MCV single-deckers for routes 299, R2 and R11.

5. Stagecoach London has ordered 9 ADL Enviro400EVs (80418-80426) for route 287 (RM) plus an unconfirmed quantity of Wrightbus Electroliners for routes 61, 261, 425 and D8.

6. Since 22nd February, some WHV class hybrids for Go-Ahead London route 14 have been outstationed from Putney (AF) to Waterloo (RA). This is believed to be a temporary arrangement, whilst additional charging infrastructure is installed at AF. 7. Route changes next Saturday (15th March) will include the 138 and 225 passing from Go-Ahead London to Stagecoach (both to be worked by TL with existing diesel single-decks) and a re-routing of the 273 in Grove Park.

Monday 3 March

1. Some of the MEC-class Mercedes Citaro single-deckers recently withdrawn by Go-Ahead London following replacement on route 108 have had a temporary reprieve. After a refresh at Hants & Dorset in Eastleigh, at least five are moving to Dartford for use on the Fastrack routes.

2. Go-Ahead London's Goat Road garage near Mitcham is closing later this month. Only opened in March 2023, the facility was basically just an open yard, with bus maintenance being undertaken at the 'parent' garages of Merton and Sutton. It is understood that a replacement site elsewhere on the same industrial estate has been obtained.

3. As reported, the sale of RATP-Dev Transit London to First Group was completed on the last day of February. One bus (VH45189) had already been given First Bus logos for publicity purposes, and was noted in service about a week before the official change. Do we have now some mass fleet renumberings to look forward to?

4. The buses to be used on the bicycle carrying service through the new Silvertown tunnel are to be given an eye-catching silver and blue livery. Five Stagecoach London BYD/ADL E200EVs are being converted, having previously been used on route 323.

5. The first of 20 WrightBus GB Kite single-deckers ordered by RATP-Dev for route 33 have been noted in Coventry en-route to London. Numbered in the WKE37102-37121 batch, the buses were on trade-plates and lacked company logos, no doubt due to the First take-over.

6. Next weekend (8th March) again sees mainly contract renewals or extensions, with not much actual change. Exceptions are that route 444 is due to get new electric single-deckers (when delivered), while school route 657 passes from Go-Ahead London (NP) to Stagecoach (T).

Coming events

These are publicised as a service to the readership. LOTS has neither any involvement nor responsibility for any event listed. Some events have admission fees. Please check before attending if costs are a concern. We usually confine this listing to events with an expected London bus interest or are within easy reach of London.
(LSS) = LOTS' Sales Stand expected to attend.

27 April
LT Country Bus Rally, East Grinstead. Country Bus Rallies.

3 May
Theydon Bois Transport Bazaar, Theydon Bois Village Hall.

17 May
Faversham Transport Weekend Bus Running Day.

1 June
Classic Buses from Dorking Bus Station. Amersham & District Motor Bus Society.

8 June
Heritage operation on route 418 Kingston - Epsom.

22 June
Summer Festival, London Bus Museum.

13 July
Showbus. Buckinghamshire Railway Cenre.

13 July
Lowish Floor Running Day. East Grinstead - Godstone.

14 July
Thanet Vintage Bus Road Running Day.

20 July
Alton Bus Rally and Running Day.

20 July
Classic Buses in Hertford. (DATE CHANGED FROM 27 April).

10 August
Tenterden Bus Rally and Running Day.

16 August
Imberbus.

23 August
Swanley 100 Event. Garage open day and bus rally at West Kingsdown with connecting bus service celebrating 100 years of Swanley (SJ) Garage. Initial details.

6 September
Open Day at Metrobus' Crawley Depot.

7 September
Epping - Ongar bus running day.

7 September
Bus Rally at New Romney.

1 November
Aldenham Transport Spectacular, Allum Hall, 2 Allum Lane, Elstree & Borehamwood, WD6 3PJ. Open 10.00 - 16.00hrs. Information: www.facebook.com/aldenhamtransportspectacular. (LSS)

A national event list can be found here.