London Central has won the contracts to operate three routes, currently provided by Arriva London North, that once formed part of London Buses’ Bexleybus network.
The 99 (Woolwich – Bexleyheath), 269 (Bexleyheath – Bromley) and 401 (Bexleyheath – Thamesmead) will return to Bexleyheath garage in January next year and receive new battery-electric buses. Route 153 (Finsbury Park -–Liverpool Street) will transfer from London General to Metroline in February with new battery-electric buses replacing the current BYD / Alexander Dennis Enviro200EVs. A reduced peak vehicle requirement (PVR) hints at a frequency cut.
A number of recent contract awards have seen routes retained by their current operators using existing diesel or hybrid vehicles. As has been the case in recent months these have been for between three and six years, in keeping with the mayor’s ambition of achieving a zero-emission bus fleet by 2030. A three-year contract has also been awarded to London United to continue operating route 65 (Ealing Broadway – Kingston) and its nighttime variant the N65 (Ealing Broadway – Chessington). Existing battery-electric buses will continue to be used on the daytime service but some journeys on the N65 wil…
