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

LOTS requires a new sub-editor (or perhaps two) to cover the Current Vehicle News section in TLB. Please e-mail lotstlbeditor@gmail.com if you think you may be interested in helping out.

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:

Sunday 15 June

1. Go-Ahead London put the first 4 of its SEL-class Wright GB Kite single-deckers into service on route B16 (BX) on 10th June. 53 of the type are on order and will also be allocated to routes 355, 360 and 444.

2. Transport UK's StreetDeck Electroliners for BC route 270 (3116-3132) have yet to appear on that route, though 3 have now been "borrowed" by TF and used on route 111.

3. Go-Ahead London route 368 (RR) appears to have been unexpectedly converted to electric operation from 14th June, using EBD-class buses from the batch EBD100-113.

Tuesday 10 June

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

Route	Current Operator	New Operator	PVR	Vehicles
149 (24h)	Arriva London North	Arriva London North	30	Existing New Routemaster
275	Stagecoach East London	Stagecoach East London	13	New electric double deck
BL1	n/a (new route)	London Central	10	Electric double deck

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:

Monday 9 June

1. Just eight LTs (LT49-56) transferred from Go-Ahead to Arriva with route 67 on 31st May, while Transport UK's route 270 has yet to see any of the new Electroliners recently delivered for its contract renewal from the same date.

2. Recently delivered Transport UK Electroliner 3115 has been given a 'wrap' to promote it as the 2000th Zero Emission bus for London. There are actually nearer to 2,500 electric buses in London now, but quite a few have yet to be put into service.

3. Stagecoach London has started putting its second batch of Volvo/MCV single-deckers (66090-66100) into service on routes W13 and W14 (both from LI). Similar 66045-66063 have been delivered for route 314 (TB) but are not yet in use.

4. Arriva London has ordered more StreetDeck Electroliners for route 217 (ES162-175), plus ES161 to replace ES53 which was written-off before delivery.

5. Go-Ahead London has ordered 50 more BYD B11E02 buses. EBD114-138 are for route 188 and EBD139-163 for the 88. Currently being delivered are lots of DEL-class StreetDeck Electroliners, SEL-class GB-Kites and SEO-class Enviro100EVs, with SVM-class Volvo/MCV single-deckers imminent.

6. Metroline's WSE-class GB-Kites are now appearing on routes 143 (W) and C11 (HT) as well as the 153 (HT), while the first of the slightly longer WSELs that were ordered for the 153 (WSEL3132) entered service on 9th June.

7. From 14th June, routes 209, 378 and 533 are transferring from Putney (AF) to Stockwell (SW), while from the 21st June, route 30 will be withdrawn between Euston and Marble Arch, with route 205 withdrawn between Baker Street and Paddington and diverted to Marble Arch in compensation.

8. LOTS has its Annual General Meeting at the usual venue on Monday 16th June.

Sunday 25 May

1. As noted, Stagecoach London's new E400EV electrics (80401-80417) started appearing on Superloop route SL3 from 16th May. However, until infrastructure works at Bromley (TB) are completed, there are normally only three or four out per day.

2. Stagecoach put the first of its next batch of Electroliners into service on 21st May. 82099-82112 were ordered for route 247 (NS) but are also appearing on route 86. Be aware that some of the fleetnumber/registration tie-ups appear to have been changed during delivery.

3. Transport UK (QB) took over route 337 from Go-Ahead (SW) on 24th May using new Electroliners 3104-3115, although the allocations are being mixed with slightly older 3038-3085 from routes 133, 306 and C3.

4. Several routes start new contracts next weekend (31st May) but the only immediate changes will be on routes 67 (which transfers from Go-Ahead London NP to Arriva London SF, using the existing LT New Routemasters) and 270 (new Transport UK Electroliners). Route 44 is due to lose its 7-year old WSD-class StreetDecks in favour of similar vintage EH-class hybrids, while the 491 (Metroline PB) will get new electric single deckers at a later date.

Thursday 22 May

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:

Friday 16 May (Extra)

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:

Friday 16 May

1. The first of the new Enviro100EV model to enter TfL service appeared on 10th May when Stagecoach London started the conversion on route W12 (AW) using buses from the batch 46025-46040.

2. Stagecoach London also started the conversion of route 287 (RM) to electric buses on 10th May. The route is due to receive new Enviro400EVs 80418-80426 but is initially using StreetDecks from the batch intended for route 169 (BK) (82083-82098).

3. The first Enviro400EV to work on Superloop route SL3 emerged on 16th May when 80406 was put out. The 17 new buses were all built several months ago but delivery (and registration) was deferred due to delays in the commissioning of charging equipment at Bromley Garage (TB).

4. Diamond Bus South East put the first example of the new Australian-built Custom Denning Element 2 electric single-decker into service on Bedfont Lakes route BL2 on 15th May. 39004 has a blue livery with "Bloom Heathrow London" lettering.

5. Transport UK has taken delivery of new StreetDeck Electroliners 3104-3115 for use on route 337 (QB), with similar 3116-3132 now also arriving for route 270 (BC). These are due to start work on 24th May (337) or 31st May (270), although some have already seen use on railway replacement services. 6. Go-Ahead London BYD B11E02s EBD100-113 have started entering service on school routes from River Road (RR). This batch was ordered for route 320 (MB), though EBD19-34 had already been switched to that route from their planned use on route 333 (SW). At RR, the new buses are displacing slightly older examples from the batch EBD1-18 which are moving on to their intended use on route 321 (NX).

Vacancies - LOTS requires a new sub-editor (or perhaps two) to cover the Current Vehicle News section in TLB. Please e-mail lotstlbeditor@gmail.com if you think you may be interested in helping out.

Wednesday 14 May

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

Route	Current Operator	New Operator	PVR	Vehicles
367	Transport UK London	Transport UK London	10	Existing diesel single deck
493	London General	Transport UK London	17	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 vehicles detailed above will meet Euro VI emissions standards. 

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

Monday 5 May

1. Five bus routes changed operator on Saturday 3rd May. The 196 is now with Arriva (N) (was Transport UK), using existing HV hybrids and some ES electrics pending delivery of new E400EVs EE13-30. The 330 and 474 are with Go-Ahead London (DS) (were Stagecoach) and are to be operated by EH and WHV class hybrids but are initially using E and WVL diesels drafted in from various garages. The 485 and G1 are with Transport UK (QB) (were Go-Ahead London) and are temporarily using existing diesel E200s, including 8 loaned from First Bus London as fleetnumbers 8251-8258. New electric single-deckers are on order.

2. EL1, the Wright StreetDeck Electroliner demonstrator that has been with Go-Ahead London for a while, has moved from Sutton to Merton and is in use on route 200. Also at Merton, DEL17, the first of the Electroliners for route 131, has been noted in training use. Further DELs have been seen on delivery, including some from the batches for New Cross routes 171 and 172 (DEL100-131), which are apparently due before the batches for Putney and Bexleyheath (DEL40-99).

3. Most of the new Wright Kites for First Bus London are now in service on routes 33 (FW) and 218 (X). There was a suggestion that these buses would have their fleetnumbers changed to First Group ones, but all are still in the WKE37102-37131 series. Many are operating without First Bus logos so far.

4. There are no more TfL route changes until 24th May, when routes 25 and 337 start new contracts. The 25 stays with Stagecoach and its existing buses, but the 337 switches from Go-Ahead London to Transport UK with new Electroliners 3104-3115 due.

5. The Irizar ie trams for the North Kent Fastrack routes are finally entering service. Most of IE21-48 have been moved from storage at Silvertown to Dartford, and about half a dozen have seen service, all now registered with LJ25B** marks.

Friday 2 May

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

Route	Current Operator	New Operator	PVR	Vehicles
372	Stagecoach East London	Stagecoach East London	8	New electric double deck
649/650/651	Blue Triangle	Stagecoach East London	9	Existing diesel double deck

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

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:

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.

22 June
Summer Festival, London Bus Museum.

29 June
Reading Buses Open day.

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.

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. (LSS)

31 August
Sudbury Bus Rally.

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.