Go-Ahead London
Encyclopedia
Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
operations of the Go-Ahead Group
Go-Ahead Group
The Go-Ahead Group plc is a rail and bus operating company that was created following the privatisation of the UK's train and bus industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-Early history:...
. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands. It is the largest bus operator in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, operating a total of 115 bus routes contracted to Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
.
History
The Go-Ahead Group is a large transport group based in NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. It first became involved in London bus operations in September 1994, where upon the privatisation
Privatisation of London bus services
The privatisation of London bus services was the progressive process of the transfer of operation of London Buses from public bodies to private companies....
of London Buses Limited, it acquired former LBL subsidiary London Central
London Central
London Central is one of many operators of London Buses. It was established in late 1988 as one of 12 operating subsidiaries of London Buses Limited , and was privatised to the Go-Ahead Group in September 1994...
. Just under two years later, in May 1996, it added another former LBL subsidiary, London General
London General
London General is a bus company operating in Surrey ang Greater London. It is owned by the Go-Ahead Group and operates most buses under contract to London Buses...
, which had initially been part of a management buyout. These two companies subsequently developed in much the same way, both establishing a livery of red with a charcoal skirt and yellow relief band, and splitting orders for new buses.
Further expansion did not occur until September 2006, when London General, on behalf of Go-Ahead, purchased Docklands Buses
Docklands Buses
Docklands Buses is one of many bus companies operating contracted services on behalf of London Buses.-History:The company was formed by Transit Holdings in 1993 as 'Docklands Transit'. It initially operated local commercial routes using minibuses, but these proved not to be viable so it switched to...
. Then, on 29 June 2007, the group acquired the bus operating part of Blue Triangle
Blue Triangle
Blue Triangle is one of many operators of London Buses, it is based in Rainham and is part of Go-Ahead London. It is the operator of the East London Transit service.-History:...
. With these purchases, Go-Ahead surpassed Arriva London
Arriva London
Arriva London is a division of Arriva which operates bus services in London, UK. It is made up of many previous bus operators including previously independent Grey Green...
to become the largest operator of buses in London, running around 16% of London bus services.
A corporate image for Go-Ahead's London bus services started to appear in August 2008, when a new "Go-Ahead London" logo was unveiled; subsequent new buses carry new style fleetnames incorporating this logo.
In 2009, Transport for London (TfL) invited bids for the sale of their own bus operations which ran under the East Thames Buses (ETB) brand. Go-Ahead London were selected as the preferred bidder and assumed full responsibility for ETB, their 10 routes and 2 depots, in October 2009. The ETB brand was discontinued and was replaced with the Go-Ahead London brand. The ETB operations were initially absorbed under the London General arm of Go-Ahead's London business. However, after some route movements and allocation changes some of the services now run under the London Central arm.
Current companies
The current subsidiaries of Go-Ahead London are, in order of acquisition:- London CentralLondon CentralLondon Central is one of many operators of London Buses. It was established in late 1988 as one of 12 operating subsidiaries of London Buses Limited , and was privatised to the Go-Ahead Group in September 1994...
(1994) - London GeneralLondon GeneralLondon General is a bus company operating in Surrey ang Greater London. It is owned by the Go-Ahead Group and operates most buses under contract to London Buses...
(1996) - Docklands BusesDocklands BusesDocklands Buses is one of many bus companies operating contracted services on behalf of London Buses.-History:The company was formed by Transit Holdings in 1993 as 'Docklands Transit'. It initially operated local commercial routes using minibuses, but these proved not to be viable so it switched to...
(2006) - Blue TriangleBlue TriangleBlue Triangle is one of many operators of London Buses, it is based in Rainham and is part of Go-Ahead London. It is the operator of the East London Transit service.-History:...
(2007) - East Thames BusesEast Thames BusesEast Thames Buses was the only government owned bus operator of London Buses. It was sold to London General in 2009.-History:East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failed Harris Bus Company...
(2009)
See also
- Metrobus - A bus company also owned by Go-Ahead, running services south of London as well as in Surrey and Sussex.
- List of bus operators of the United Kingdom