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| Parent | London Regional Transport; at time of inauguration, then Transport for London |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Service area | Greater London |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Routes | 11 |
| Fleet | Volvo B7TL DAF SB120 Scania OmniTown |
East Thames Buses was the trading name of London Buses Limited, an arms length subsidiary of Transport for London. In 2009, it was sold to Go-Ahead London.
East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failed Harris Bus. [1] It was then retained as an accredited operator to operate services in the event of their contracted operator being unable to do so. In August 2002 it was called in to operate routes 42 and 185 following the collapse of London Easylink. [2]
On 3 October 2009 Transport for London sold East Thames Buses to Go-Ahead London. [3]
When it was formed, East Thames Buses operated from the former London Forest and Kentish Bus Ash Grove bus garage and Harris's Belvedere Garage. On 13 October 2005 Ash Grove was vacated and operations transferred to Mandela Way, Southwark.
Mandela Way - West opened in late 2005 following the relocation from the existing base at Ash Grove. It had a Peak Vehicle Requirement of 53 buses and operated London bus routes 1, 42 and 185. When Mandela Way - West (MA) garage closed on 30 April 2010 it operated the following types of buses:
Following on from Ash Grove's role, Mandela Way serviced the East Thames Buses fleet. In the last few months of East Thames Buses operation, route 1 moved next door to Mandela Way (MW) (the original London General depot) but were still maintained by the East Thames engineers.
Most of the routes once operated by Mandela Way - West were reallocated to London Central's & London General's other garages. The only exception was route 393 which has put back out to tender shortly after East Thames Buses took over the running of route 201 and moved to Mandela Way.
Belvedere garage was leased by Harris Bus in 1998 to house its operations that moved from Crayford. Harris Bus went into receivership in December 1999, and its routes and garage were taken over by East Thames Buses.
This garage has a peak vehicle requirement of 15 buses and operates routes 180 and part of 669 and N1. On 22 January 2011 route 244 transferred from London Central's Bexleyheath garage. Belvedere has always been classed as a satellite garage from an engineering point of view with very little routine maintenance ever taking place there, however limited engineering facilities existed at up until its parent garage changing to Bexleyheath.
Belvedere is now closed.
Belvedere garage ran the following models:
London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London, is a bus company operating in Greater London. The London General brand is a subsidiary of Go-Ahead London and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal operator of buses in London between 1855 and 1933.
The Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus chassis which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of the Volvo Olympian. It was built as the British bus operators seemed hesitant to purchase the B7L double decker with a long rear overhang.
London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London, is a bus company operating in South London. The London Central brand is a subsidiary of Go-Ahead London and operates services under contract to Transport for London.
The Alexander ALX400 was a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders. It was one of the ALX-series bodywork, all of which featured the same designs on the front and rear panels that were originally designed for the new generation of mainly low-floor bus chassis produced since the late 1990s.
The Plaxton President was a low floor double-decker bus body built by Plaxton at the former Northern Counties factory in Wigan, England. It was first unveiled in 1997 on the longitudinal Volvo B7L chassis and later built between 1998 and 2005 following a body redesign. When it became part of TransBus International, the body was sold under the TransBus name. The President was built on the Dennis/TransBus Trident, the DAF DB250 and the Volvo B7TL chassis.
The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a low-floor double-decker bus body that was built by Wrightbus since 2001, based on the single-decker Wright Eclipse design. The second-generation Eclipse Gemini 2 was launched in 2009, followed by the third-generation Gemini 3 in 2013. Additionally, the body was available on Volvo Super Olympian chassis in Hong Kong between 2003 and 2005, marketed as the Wright Explorer.
London Buses route 6 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Willesden bus garage and Victoria station, it is operated by Metroline.
London Buses route 12 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Dulwich Library and Oxford Circus, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.
London Buses route 108 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Lewisham Shopping Centre and Stratford International station, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.
The Wright Pulsar Gemini was a design of double-decker bus bodywork built onto VDL DB250LF chassis by Wrightbus between 2003 and 2006. It was visually almost identical to the Wright Eclipse Gemini that was mounted on the Volvo B7TL and later Volvo B9TL chassis.
London Buses route 26 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Hackney Wick and Victoria station, it is operated by Stagecoach London.
London Buses route 185 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Lewisham and Victoria stations, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.
London Buses route 183 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Pinner and Golders Green stations, it is operated by RATP Dev Transit London.
Southdown PSV Limited, which traded as Southdown Buses, was a medium-sized country bus operator, with 18 routes across East Surrey, West Sussex, South London and Kent, 9 of which were school bus routes. Most of their routes were operated on behalf of Surrey County Council, other work included railway replacement services for planned engineering work.
London Buses route 132 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Bexleyheath Shopping Centre and North Greenwich bus station, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.
London Buses route 180 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Erith and North Greenwich bus station, it is operated by Stagecoach London.
First Beeline Buses Limited, trading as First Beeline, is a bus operator providing services in and around Slough. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
Ash Grove bus garage is a bus garage in Hackney, East London owned by London Buses. It is located on Ash Grove, off Mare Street, north of the Regent's Canal and is occupied by Stagecoach London. The garage was opened in 1981 by London Transport and has been leased to a number of bus operators over the years.
London Buses route SL6, formerly London Buses route X68, is a Transport for London contracted Superloop express bus route in London, England. Running between Russell Square and West Croydon bus station, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.
