This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2009) |
East Thames Buseswas the trading name of London Buses Limited, an arms length subsidiary ofTransport for London.In 2009, it was sold toGo-Ahead London.
 | |
 | |
| Parent | London Regional Transport;at time of inauguration, thenTransport for London |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Service area | Greater London |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Routes | 11 |
| Fleet | Volvo B7TL DAF SB120 Scania OmniTown |
History
editEast Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failedHarris 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 routes42and185following the collapse ofLondon Easylink.[2]
On 3 October 2009 Transport for London sold East Thames Buses toGo-Ahead London.[3]
Garages
editWhen it was formed, East Thames Buses operated from the formerLondon ForestandKentish BusAsh Grove bus garageand Harris'sBelvedereGarage. On 13 October 2005 Ash Grove was vacated and operations transferred to Mandela Way,Southwark.
Mandela Way - West (MA)
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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 routes1,42and185. When Mandela Way - West (MA) garage closed on 30 April 2010 it operated the following types of buses:
- Volvo B7TL10m/Plaxton President(VP - Route 185, occasionally used on route 1)
- Volvo B7TL10.6m/Wright Eclipse Gemini(VWL - Normally route 1)
- Scania N94UB10.7m/East Lancs Myllennium(ELS - Route 42)
- Dennis Dart/Plaxton Pointers(on loan fromLondon General)
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 toLondon Central's &London General's other garages. The only exception wasroute 393which has put back out to tender shortly after East Thames Buses took over the running ofroute 201and moved to Mandela Way.
Belvedere (BV)
editBelvederegarage was leased by Harris Bus in 1998 to house its operations that moved fromCrayford.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 operatesroutes 180and part of669andN1.On 22 January 2011route 244transferred 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:
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"TfL announces sale of East Thames Buses".Transport for London.29 July 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 5 June 2011.
- ^Buses recalled as firm goes bankruptBBC News21 August 2002
- ^Go-Ahead half year Report 2 January 2010Archived15 October 2013 at theWayback MachineGo-Ahead Group
External links
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