Green Line routes 700, 701 and 702
Encyclopedia
Green Line routes 701 and 702 and former route 700 are limited-stop express coach
services, currently operated by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
as part of the large Green Line Coaches
network. It operates between Bracknell
and London
. Green Line routes 701 and 702 are operated by First Group. Most Green Line services are operated by Arriva Shires & Essex
.
London Country Bus Services
started Green Line route 701 from Maidenhead to London, in conjunction with Alder Valley
in May 1982. When Alder Valley was split in 1986, the route passed to the Berks Bucks Bus Company (Bee Line), which eventually became First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
.
To bring together all of the Berks Bucks Bus Company routes which terminated at London Victoria into one depot, route 702 was extended into Bracknell, previously only having run as far as Legoland Windsor.
To begin with, Volvo
/Jonckheere
coaches were transferred from Slough for the services. Armchairs’s London commuter routes C1 and C2 became Green Line route 701, with the existing Slough to London Green Line route 701 passing to Armchair.
The route was operated by a fleet of Scania N113
CRB/Berkhof Excellence 1000
coaches, displaced from the Reading RailAir
service. In 2001 and 2002, a number of Plaxton Premiere
and Expressliner
were used on the service, but these were soon moved away.
The services introduced the "Rainbow Fares" scheme in 2004, which enables passengers to choose the cheapest fares if they don't need to travel at a particular time.
In late 2006/early 2007, some Volvo B7R
/Plaxton Profile
were moved from First Cymru
to operate the service. The run in standard First livery with Green Line stickers. After three new Volvo B12B
/Plaxton Panther were put on the Reading RailAir
service, three of the existing Scania K114
IB/Irizar Century
were painted into and are now used on the Green Line livery.
In April 2008, one of the Plaxton Profiles used on the route was repainted into a traditional version of the Green Line livery. In the October 2008 three Volvo B9TL
/Wright Eclipse Gemini
double deckers, with coach style leather seating, were also put in service for the 700/701/702 group of routes.
Route 702 is the standard service, running the whole route at a basic hourly frequency. Route 701 runs at peak times only, covering the whole route plus some Bracknell housing estates.
There are a number of different fares used on the service. These vary from the standard bus-like singles and day returns to season tickets. The service is most notable for the use a the "Rainbow Fares" scheme, which was introduced in 2004. This encourages passengers to travel on the less popular journeys, as they are priced the cheapest. In theory, if a passenger doesn't mind what time they travel at, a single journey will cost £1.
Ordinary bus fares are also available between Bracknell and Langley.
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
services, currently operated by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
First Berkshire & The Thames Valley is a bus operator serving Bracknell, Slough and Wokingham, in England. It is part of First Group, a major bus and train operator with a turnover of nearly £2.5 billion a year and 62,000 employees across the UK and North America...
as part of the large Green Line Coaches
Green Line Coaches
Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home Counties of England. It is owned by the Arriva group.Green Line has its origin in the network of coach services established by the London General Omnibus Company in the 1920s and 1930s...
network. It operates between Bracknell
Bracknell
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London...
and 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...
. Green Line routes 701 and 702 are operated by First Group. Most Green Line services are operated by Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...
.
History
Following deregulation of the UK coach market under the Transport Act 1980Transport Act 1980
The Transport Act 1980 was a Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It introduced deregulation of coach services in the United Kingdom and allow authorities to deregulate bus services on a trial basis. It was introduced by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher. The later Transport Act...
London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services
London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1969 until split up and sold in 1986 under Margaret Thatcher's government's bus deregulation scheme.-Creation:...
started Green Line route 701 from Maidenhead to London, in conjunction with Alder Valley
Alder Valley
The Thames Valley and Aldershot Omnibus Company, trading as Alder Valley, was a former bus operator in England.-The NBC era:The Thames Valley and Aldershot Omnibus Company was formed by the merger of two National Bus Company subsidiaries, Aldershot and District Traction and Thames Valley Traction...
in May 1982. When Alder Valley was split in 1986, the route passed to the Berks Bucks Bus Company (Bee Line), which eventually became First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
First Berkshire & The Thames Valley
First Berkshire & The Thames Valley is a bus operator serving Bracknell, Slough and Wokingham, in England. It is part of First Group, a major bus and train operator with a turnover of nearly £2.5 billion a year and 62,000 employees across the UK and North America...
.
To bring together all of the Berks Bucks Bus Company routes which terminated at London Victoria into one depot, route 702 was extended into Bracknell, previously only having run as far as Legoland Windsor.
To begin with, Volvo
Volvo Buses
Volvo Buses is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Göteborg....
/Jonckheere
Jonckheere
Jonckheere is a motor coach and bus builder, founded in 1881 by Henri Jonckheere in Roeselare, Belgium. Presently, the company is known as VDL Jonckheere.-History:...
coaches were transferred from Slough for the services. Armchairs’s London commuter routes C1 and C2 became Green Line route 701, with the existing Slough to London Green Line route 701 passing to Armchair.
The route was operated by a fleet of Scania N113
Scania N113
The Scania N113 was a transverse-engined bus chassis built by Scania AB of Sweden between 1988 and 2000.Like its predecessor, the N112, the N113 had an 11-litre engine mounted at the rear, coupled to either a Scania or Voith gearbox...
CRB/Berkhof Excellence 1000
Berkhof Excellence 1000
The Berkhof Excellence 1000 is a Coach bodywork built by Berkhof in the Netherlands, it began production in 1991 and was replaced by the Axial in 2001....
coaches, displaced from the Reading RailAir
RailAir
RailAir, Railair or Rail Air describes a number of airport bus and coach services designed to connect the National Rail network to airports in the United Kingdom. Services are currently concentrated on London Heathrow Airport, with one other from London Luton Airport...
service. In 2001 and 2002, a number of Plaxton Premiere
Plaxton Premiere
The Plaxton Premiere, Plaxton Excalibur and Plaxton Prima were closely related designs of coach bodywork built by Plaxton.The Premiere and Excalibur were introduced in 1991 as replacements for the Paramount. The Premiere was the mainstream design, available in the same two heights as its predecessor...
and Expressliner
Plaxton Expressliner
The name Plaxton Expressliner or National Expressliner can refer to one of three designs of coach built by Plaxton for National Express use:...
were used on the service, but these were soon moved away.
The services introduced the "Rainbow Fares" scheme in 2004, which enables passengers to choose the cheapest fares if they don't need to travel at a particular time.
In late 2006/early 2007, some Volvo B7R
Volvo B7R
The Volvo B7R is a coach chassis available with a range of bodies. It is promoted as a rear engined lightweight coach chassis. It is primarily intended for tourist and long-distance duties...
/Plaxton Profile
Plaxton Profile
The Plaxton Profile is a coach built by Plaxton for the Volvo B7R and Dennis Javelin chassis. It is the smallest of Plaxton's full-sized coach range....
were moved from First Cymru
First Cymru
First Cymru Buses Ltd. is a provider of public transport bus services in South Wales. First Cymru was formed from a number of privatised former bus companies, including South Wales Transport. Its headquarters are in Penlan, Swansea...
to operate the service. The run in standard First livery with Green Line stickers. After three new Volvo B12B
Volvo B12B
The Volvo B12B was a rear-engined coach and intercity bus chassis built by Volvo. It is built as a direct replacement of Volvo B12 in the European market and the Volvo B10B....
/Plaxton Panther were put on the Reading RailAir
RailAir
RailAir, Railair or Rail Air describes a number of airport bus and coach services designed to connect the National Rail network to airports in the United Kingdom. Services are currently concentrated on London Heathrow Airport, with one other from London Luton Airport...
service, three of the existing Scania K114
Scania K114
The Scania K114 is a rear-engined bus built by Scania of Sweden with an 11-litre engine.It could be built as a coach or an intercity bus ....
IB/Irizar Century
Irizar Century
The Irizar Century is a coach body built on Scania's two common chassis. It was designed for those chassis.It has lots of different bodystyles.-Chassis:Known chassis which the Irizar Century body has been built upon:*Scania K114IB*Scania K124IB...
were painted into and are now used on the Green Line livery.
In April 2008, one of the Plaxton Profiles used on the route was repainted into a traditional version of the Green Line livery. In the October 2008 three Volvo B9TL
Volvo B9TL
The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo Buses since 2002. It superseded the older Volvo B10TL and the Volvo B7TL.-Chassis:...
/Wright Eclipse Gemini
Wright Eclipse Gemini
The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a type of double-decker bus body built for Volvo B7TL and later Volvo B9TL and Volvo B5L Hybrid for use in the United Kingdom....
double deckers, with coach style leather seating, were also put in service for the 700/701/702 group of routes.
Current route
- BracknellBracknellBracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London...
Bus Station- Great HollandsGreat HollandsThe development of Great Hollands neighbourhood was originally closely linked with the growth of the Bracknell company, Sperry, which was at the time Bracknell's largest employer. The only memory now left of this company is the concrete gyroscope, which is situated on one of the roundabouts on the...
Square † - Birch HillBirch HillBirch Hill is a southern suburb of Bracknell, originally part of the now-defunct civil parish of Easthampstead, in the English county of Berkshire....
, Ringmead † - Birch HillBirch HillBirch Hill is a southern suburb of Bracknell, originally part of the now-defunct civil parish of Easthampstead, in the English county of Berkshire....
, Heronade † - Sports Centre, Bagshot Road †
- Harman's Water, Shops †
- BullbrookBullbrookBullbrook is a suburb of Bracknell, in the English county of Berkshire, formerly part of the parish of Winkfield.The settlement lies largely north of the A329 road and borders begin immediately east of Bracknell town centre....
, Broad Lane †
- Great Hollands
- AscotAscot, BerkshireAscot is a village within the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting...
, Heatherwood Hospital - LegolandLegoland WindsorLegoland Windsor is a child-oriented theme park in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego toy system. The park opened in 1996 on the former Windsor Safari Park as the second Legoland after Legoland Billund in Denmark. The park is located within close distance of Windsor Castle and...
Main Entrance ‡ - LegolandLegoland WindsorLegoland Windsor is a child-oriented theme park in Windsor, Berkshire in England, themed around the Lego toy system. The park opened in 1996 on the former Windsor Safari Park as the second Legoland after Legoland Billund in Denmark. The park is located within close distance of Windsor Castle and...
Staff Entrance - Windsor Hospital, St Leonards Road
- WindsorWindsor, BerkshireWindsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
, opposite Parish Church - ChalveyChalveyChalvey is a former village which is now a suburb of Slough in the unitary authority of Slough in Berkshire, England. It was transferred to Berkshire from Buckinghamshire in 1974....
, McDonald's - SloughSloughSlough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
, outside bus station - LangleyLangley, SloughLangley is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough, Berkshire in South East England. It is situated 2 miles east of central Slough, and 20 miles west of London...
, London Road, High Street - M4 motorwayM4 motorwayThe M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
- HammersmithHammersmithHammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
- Kensington High StreetKensington High StreetKensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, west London. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
- Hyde Park CornerHyde Park CornerHyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
- LondonLondonLondon 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...
Victoria, Buckingham Palace Road
- † - Route 701 only
- ‡ - Only when the park is open
Fares
Ordinary bus fares are also available between Bracknell and Langley.