Gains for London United and London Sovereign, border cut for 216?
LOOK IN ON LONDON
The final round of tendered service contract awards announced by Transport for London in 2017 has seen two of RATP’s operations win contracts currently held by Metroline, Abellio West London and Arriva London North. It has also retained all of its existing routes that were out to tender.
Metroline will hand over operation of route 105 (Greenford-Heathrow Airport) to London United in June. The route, among the last to be operated by RTs in the 1970s, passed to CentreWest when London Buses was privatised in 1994 and was converted to minibus operation a year later, using MA-class Alexander-bodied Mercedes-Benz 811Ds. Operation passed the following year to
London & Country and it was one of the first routes to be operated by low-floor Plaxtonbodied Dennis Darts, although the contract was quickly reassigned to CentreWest, by then part of FirstGroup, along with its green buses.
London Buslines provided it for a while, but by the time double-deckers returned in 2001 that operation had become part of First London. Metroline has operated it since July 2011, using Wright-bodied Volvo B7TLs. During 2017, the daytime frequency w…
