Metrobus (Go-Ahead Group)
Encyclopedia
Metrobus is a bus operator with routes in south and south-east 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...

, and parts of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, West
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

 and East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

. The company operates many routes on tender from 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...

. Formed through a management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...

 of Tillingbourne (Metropolitan) Ltd. in 1983, it was later acquired by 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:...

 in 1999.

Company history

In February 1981 the Orpington & District bus company collapsed due to financial difficulties, and the Tillingbourne Bus Company
Tillingbourne Bus Company
Tillingbourne Bus Company was a bus operating company based in Cranleigh, Surrey, England, which operated a local service from 1924 to 2001. It was founded as Tillingbourne Valley in 1924, and became a limited company in 1931, taking the name Tillingbourne Valley Services...

 based in West Surrey took over their operations, setting up Tillingbourne (Metropolitan) Ltd. On 24 September 1983, Metrobus Ltd was formed through its two directors, Gary Wood and Peter Larking, buying out the subsidiary.

The newly-formed company acquired the former Orpington & District garage at Green Street Green, Orpington
Orpington
Orpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...

, along with six employees and six vehicles. Three routes were operated by Metrobus at the time it was set up: Route 353 (Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

 to Orpington via Coombe Road, weekday peak hours only), Route 355 (Croydon to Forestdale
Forestdale, London
Forestdale is a village in southeast London, UK, part of the London Borough of Croydon. It is located to the east of Selsdon, and to the west of Addington. The main building development of the village, commenced in the late 1960s and completed in the mid 70s, took place on what was previously open...

, weekday peak hours only) and Route 357 (Croydon to Orpington via Forestdale, Monday-Saturday, all day). In May 1982 a 'shopper bus' service was introduced, running from Sanderstead
Sanderstead
Sanderstead is a village in London Borough of Croydon, located on high ground at the edge of the built-up area of Greater London. From 1915 to 1965 it formed a parish in the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District of Surrey. Having been a farming community in previous centuries, Sanderstead is now...

 to Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...

 town centre via New Addington
New Addington
New Addington is an area on the edge of South London in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a large local authority estate surrounded by open countryside, woodland and golf courses. The Prime Meridian crosses the eastern edge of New Addington...

. In keeping with the route numbers of the former Tillingbourne services, this route was numbered 354
London Buses route T33
London Buses Route T33 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus....

. In October 1983 the 354 was rerouted to cut out New Addington and extend the route to Croydon. Due to requests from residents, the route also began to serve Bourne Vale, which was some distance from other bus services. 1986 saw route number 355 discontinued for short journeys between Croydon and Forestdale, and the 354 get a frequency boost and a rerouting via Selsdon Vale (although the residents of the area refused to allow LT to put fixed bus stops in place). The route was also curtailed at Selsdon, although it was extended back to East Croydon the next year. The 357 was withdrawn in 1995 after routes 353 & 354 were retimetabled.

Two coach operators, Southland Travel and RB Coaches, were taken over by Metrobus in October 1991 along with the ten vehicles originally owned by the companies. These coaches were used on the already-existing private hire business, and to operate scheduled day trip
Day Trip
Day Trip is the studio album of jazz guitarist Pat Metheny along with Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez.It was released by Nonesuch Records on January 29, 2008.-Track listing:-Personnel:* Pat Metheny - Guitar* Christian McBride - Bass...

s to European destinations. In 2005, Southlands was purchased by Sullivan Buses
Sullivan Buses
Sullivan Buses is a bus operating company based in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1999, it operates local bus services in and around Hertfordshire including school services; rail replacement bus services in and near London; bus links in Surrey to and from Thorpe Park; and vehicle...

, along with Polhill Garage. The business has since been resold to the local management.

In the summers of 1994 and 1995, Metrobus operated their 'Wealdsman' service (numbered 746) to complement the Surrey Hills weekend leisure bus network. Metrobus used a specially painted blue and yellow AEC Regal IV (RF-class) vehicle, on loan from the Wealdsman Preservation Group, for the long service between Bromley and Tunbridge Wells, connecting with other leisure services (London & Country Routemaster service 410 to Box Hill) at Westerham.

Throughout the late 1990s, Metrobus introduced other commercial routes operated under Section 3(2) of the London Regional Transport Act 1984 (later to become London Local Service Agreements), including the 351, 356 and 358. All such routes were later transferred to TfL in mid-2002, although the 358 still remains tendered to Metrobus as of 2009.

In 1999 the company was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group, a major transportation group which also operates the Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...

 and Southern
Southern (train operating company)
Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...

 rail franchises and owns several other bus companies in South East England.

Routes 353 & 354 were altered due to the opening of Croydon Tramlink
Tramlink
Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...

 on 20 May 2000. Both routes were transferred to standard TfL contract; the 353 was withdrawn between Addington Village and Croydon, and the 354 (renumbered T33 to reflect its new status as a Tramlink 'feeder' route) was withdrawn between Addington and Bromley.

In March 2003, two Metrobus vehicles were involved in a fatal accident at Crawley bus station. A bus crashed into the back of another bus, and mounted the kerb where passengers were waiting. As a result of the impact, one woman was killed and five others injured. Metrobus described themselves as "devastated" by the accident, and said it was their "first major incident".

Metrobus is the operator of the Fastway
Crawley Fastway
Fastway is a bus rapid transit network linking Crawley with Gatwick Airport and Horley, the first to be constructed outside a major city. It uses specially adapted buses that can either be steered by the driver or operate as "self steering" guided buses along a specially constructed track...

 guided bus network in Gatwick
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...

 and Crawley which opened in September 2003 in order to reduce congestion on the roads around Crawley by encouraging people to take the bus instead of using their cars.

On 8 December 2007 Metrobus took over the operations of First Centrewest's Orpington garage. All the staff and all 35 vehicles were also transferred to Metrobus, although the garage itself was closed, with the 'R' prefix routes transferring to the Orpington garage, and the T32 going to Croydon.

Routes 526/527 were lost in a Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 80 elected councillors.The council is controlled by the Conservative party.The leader of the council is David Hodge....

 contract to Southdown PSV
Southdown PSV
Link title Southdown PSV Limited is a medium sized country bus operator with 22 various routes across East Surrey and West Kent. Most of their routes are operated on behalf of Surrey County Council or Kent County Council, other work includes Railway replacement services for emergencies and planned...

 in January 2008, and Route 100 (Maidenbower - Redhill) became part of the Fastway Network in Spring 2008.

In September 2009 it was announced that from 3 October 2009, Metrobus would take over Arriva Guildford & West Surrey's Horsham operations, including Horsham town routes, route 93 (Dorking - Horsham) and London Buses route 465 (Dorking - Kingston). Metrobus purchased 19 buses as part of the sale and moved operations away from Arriva's site at Warnham to their existing depot in Crawley.

On 8 January 2011, one of Metrobus' vehicles was hijacked while in service in Merstham
Merstham
Merstham is a village in the Reigate and Banstead borough of Surrey, England, in the London commuter belt. It is just north of Redhill, near the intersection of the M25 and M23 motorways, on the edge of the North Downs and on the North Downs Way.-History:...

. The bus was empty having just dropped off the last passengers, and the bus driver managed to escape unharmed, along with the cash box the hijackers had tried to steal. The hijacked bus was then driven through the area, striking a number of parked car and signs, before being reversed into another Metrobus vehicle which was in service with passengers. There were no injuries, but the road was closed for a number of hours while the police investigated. Two men, ages 23 and 25, were arrested, one was released on bail, the other was charged with seven separate offences.

Fleet livery

The majority of Crawley buses feature a light blue base with a dark blue roof which swoops down at the front. It also has a white stripe separating the roof from the base, and a light blue lower dash panel. The Fastway livery is a silver base with navy blue cantrail panels and a navy blue lower front panel. Some older buses feature light blue with a dark blue roof and skirt panels along with a dark blue lower dash panel.

The London livery is all-over red with silver fleetnames on the side and white fleetnames on the front, although many have all white and all silver fleetnames. Earlier variations included the original Metrobus colours of dark blue and yellow which gradually got reduced due to TfL's requiring all buses operated under tender to have a red livery, in keeping with the traditional colour of London's buses. Most buses have blue, red and orange oblong shapes on the seats, or "sails", however buses are now getting refurbished with Crawley's "Blue Moon" moquette now becoming standard on all Metrobus buses. Fastway buses have a slightly different moquette, with the letters "fw" sewn into the fabric,along with dark grey vinyl inserts.

Driver training vehicles are a mixture of older and newer Darts, the older ones are blue and yellow, and the newer ones are red and blue. Three more Darts have recently been converted into driver training vehicles and they are white.

Fleet

Metrobus has a predominantly Scania-based fleet, alongside many Dennis products. In 2010, the company achieved an 100% low floor fleet, with the withdrawal of the last Volvo Olympians.

Metrobus had had a long association with the Leyland and Volvo Olympian, having operated them since the company was formed. In August 2010 Metrobus's last Volvo Olympian
Volvo Olympian
The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo at Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian....

s, which had East Lancs Pyoneer
East Lancs Pyoneer
The East Lancs Pyoneer is a type of double-decker bus body built on the Volvo Olympian, Dennis Arrow and Volvo B10M by East Lancashire Coachbuilders. The name continues the pattern of using 'misspelt' product names, started by the Cityzen.-History:...

 bodywork, operated their last days of service, before being transferred to sister company Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...

 to operate school services on the Isle of Wight. Newer refurbished Scania OmniDekkas replaced these vehicles, having been transferred to Crawley from the London garages. This was what completed the conversion to a 100% low floor fleet. Metrobus also purchased two new Scania OmnCity double deckers in 2008, mainly for routes 409, 411 and 460. One bus from this fleet is now used on ex-Arriva Horsham town service 98, to cope with school journeys and peak loadings. Six single-door 10.6m ADL Enviro 200 vehicles are on order for route 98 to replace the refurbished ex-Arriva Dennis Darts currently in use. Details of the fleet currently operated by each garage can be seen below.

Garages

Metrobus has 5 garages in total, three bus garages currently in use, with a further one used as storage and sales facilities, and another one out of use all together.

Rumors are that Metrobus are to open a fourth depot in St Mary Cray at the former First depot, to be coded Y, for London route 162.

Crawley (CY)

The garage in Crawley runs all of the company's non-London Buses and one London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...

 route, 465
London Buses route 465
London Buses route 465 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.-History:...

. This depot is shared with National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...

. Routes include:
  • 1: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     town service: Bewbush West - Town Centre - Broadfield
  • 2: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     town service: Ifield West - Town Centre - K2 Leisure Centre
  • 4: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     town service: County Oak - Town Centre - Pound Hill and Crabbet Park
  • 5: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     town service: County Oak - Town Centre - Crabbet Park and Pound Hill
  • 6: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     town service: Town Centre - Gossops Green
  • 23: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     - Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

     - Worthing
    Worthing
    Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...

  • 24: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     - Colgate - Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

     (one journey to Horsham Mon-Sat only)
  • 51: The Common - Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

     - North Heath
  • 61: Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

     - North Heath - Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

  • 65: Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

     - Oakhill - Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

  • 81: Haywards Heath
    Haywards Heath
    -Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...

     - Sharpthorne - Haywards Heath
    Haywards Heath
    -Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...

  • 82: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     - Haywards Heath
    Haywards Heath
    -Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...

  • 84: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     - East Grinstead
    East Grinstead
    East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...

  • 86: Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

     - Southwater - Bolney - Haywards Heath
    Haywards Heath
    -Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...

  • 89: Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

     - Warninglid - Bolney - Haywards Heath
    Haywards Heath
    -Climate:Haywards Heath experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Rail:Haywards Heath railway station is a major station on the Brighton Main Line...

  • 93: Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

     - Warnham - Capel - Beare Green - Goodwyns - Dorking
  • 98: Southwater - Hop Oast Park & Ride - Horsham - Roffey
  • 200: Horsham - Bewbush - Crawley - Gatwick Airport
  • 270: East Grinstead - Forest Row - Wych Cross - Danehill - Horsted Keynes - Lindfield - Haywards Heath
  • 271: Three Bridges (one journey Mon-Sat starts here) - Crawley - Handcross - Cuckfield - Haywards Heath
  • 272: Crawley - Three Bridges - Balcombe - Cuckfield - Haywards Heath (one journey each way per day Mon-Sat)
  • 273/N73: Crawley - Handcross - Bolney - Hurstpierpoint - Patcham - Brighton
  • 281: Crawley - Three Bridges - Copthorne - Crawley Down - Felbridge - Imberhorne - East Grinstead - Worsted Farm - Stone Quarry - Dormansland - Lingfield
  • 291: Crawley - Crawley Down - East Grinstead - Forest Row - Hartfield - Groombridge - Langton - Tunbridge Wells
  • 298: Horsham Tanbridge House School - Southwater (schooldays only)
  • 300: Gatwick Airport - City Place - Manor Royal - Langley Green - Ifield - Ifield West (Mon-Fri peak times only)
  • 303: Halstead - Bennett Memorial School
  • 391: Crawley - Crawley Down - Turners Hill - Felbridge - West Hoathly - Sharpthorne - East Grinstead - Forest Row
  • 398: Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     - Crawley Schools - Bewbush - Roffey - Millais/Forest Schools - Horsham
    Horsham
    Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...

     - Southwater (schooldays only)
  • 400: Stone Quarry - East Grinstead
    East Grinstead railway station
    East Grinstead railway station serves the town of East Grinstead in West Sussex. The station was formerly divided into two levels: the higher level platforms serving the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells Central Line, whilst the lower level platforms received services from the Oxted Line 49 km ...

     - Crawley
    Crawley
    Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...

     - Gatwick South - East Surrey Hospital - Redhill
    Redhill
    Redhill can refer to:* Redhill, South Australia, Australia* Redhill, Nottinghamshire, England* Redhill, Shropshire, England* Redhill, Somerset, England* Redhill, Surrey, England**Redhill railway station**Redhill Aerodrome* Redhill, Singapore, Singapore...

     - Godstone
    Godstone
    Godstone is a village in the county of Surrey, England. It is located approximately six miles east of Reigate at the junction of the A22 and A25 major roads, and near the M25 motorway.-History:...

     - Caterham
    Caterham railway station
    Caterham railway station serves the town of Caterham in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England.The station is the southern terminus of the Caterham Line, which branches from the London to Brighton main line at Purley...

     - Caterham-on-the-Hill
  • 409: Caterham
    Caterham railway station
    Caterham railway station serves the town of Caterham in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England.The station is the southern terminus of the Caterham Line, which branches from the London to Brighton main line at Purley...

     - Caterham-on-the-Hill - Whyteleafe - Warlingham - Chelsham Common - Selsdon (some peak journeys extend to/from Croydon).
  • 420/820: Redhill - Reigate - Tadworth - Tattenham Corner - Banstead - Sutton
  • 430: Merstham - Merstham circular via Redhill, Whitebushes, Woodhatch, South Park, Reigate and Redhill
  • 435: Merstham - Merstham circular via Redhill, Reigate, South Park, Woodhatch, Whitebushes and Redhill
  • 460: Redhill - Reigate - Walton-on-the-Hill - Tadworth - Marbles Way - Tattenham Corner - Epsom
  • 465
    London Buses route 465
    London Buses route 465 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.-History:...

    :
    Dorking - Leatherhead - Chessington World of Adventures
    Chessington World of Adventures
    Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park and zoo in South West London, England. It lies south of Central London. Historically opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, a theme park was developed alongside it, opening in 1987...

     - Hook - Kingston (TfL tendered route) Contract recently won by Quality Line
    Quality Line
    Quality Line is the trading name of the bus division of Epsom Coaches, and operates over sixty buses throughout the south London and Surrey area, with many under contract to London Buses or Surrey County Council.-History:...

  • 473: Bluebell Railway
    Bluebell Railway
    The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between and , with an intermediate station at .The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers...

     service, East Grinstead - Kingscote station
  • 480: Preston - Marbles Way - Tattenham Corner - Epsom
  • 540: East Surrey Hospital - Oxted
    Oxted railway station
    Oxted railway station is a relatively busy interchange station and terminus located in Surrey, in the South East region of England. At present, all train services are provided by Southern. The station is the busiest suburban station on the Oxted Line and is a terminus for some services on the...

     Caterham
    Caterham
    Caterham is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is geographically divided into two sections: Caterham on the Hill and Caterham Valley - the main town centre. The town lies close to the A22, a few miles south of Croydon, in a valley cut into the dip slope of the North Downs...

     - Warlingham
    Warlingham
    Warlingham is a large village on the south-eastern boundary of London, England, just across the border in Tandridge district, east Surrey. Neighbouring villages include Sanderstead, Hamsey Green, Whyteleafe, Farleigh, Fickleshole, Tatsfield and Woldingham...

     (One journey schooldays only to Warlingham)
  • 604: Oriel School - Pound Hill - Wakehams Green - Crabbet Park (schooldays only)
  • 606: Crawley Town Centre - Three Bridges - Oriel School (schooldays only)
  • 624: Imberhorne Schools - Felbridge - Crawley Down - Copthorne - Burstow - Smallfield - Horley (schooldays only)
  • 692: Crawley Town Centre - Langley Green - Ifield - Gossops Green - Crawley Schools (schooldays only)
  • 693: Crawley Down - Copthorne - Maidenbower - Three Bridges - Furnace Green - Tilgate - Crawley Schools (schooldays only)
  • 696: Our Lady Queen of Heaven School - Ifield - Gossops Green - Bewbush - Broadfield (schooldays only)
  • 801: West Green Sainsburys - Southgate - Tilgate - Furnace Green - Crawley Town Centre - Three Bridges - Pound Hill (Tues-Fri only)
  • 802: West Green Sainsburys - Langley Green - Ifield - Ifield West - Gossops Green - Bewbush - Broadfield (Tues-Fri only)
  • 901: Crawley Town Centre - Crossways - Three Bridges Tesco (Mon-Fri only)
  • 921: Horsham Town Centre - Bishopric - Farthings Hill - Broadbridge Heath Tesco (Mon-Fri only)

The garage also operates Fastway
Crawley Fastway
Fastway is a bus rapid transit network linking Crawley with Gatwick Airport and Horley, the first to be constructed outside a major city. It uses specially adapted buses that can either be steered by the driver or operate as "self steering" guided buses along a specially constructed track...

 routes:
  • 10 Bewbush - Gatwick Airport North
  • 20 Broadfield - Horley - Langshott
  • 100 Maidenbower - Crawley - Redhill - Park 25

History

Following the decision by Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...

 to discontinue its operations in Crawley and most of East Surrey and West Sussex in March 2001, Metrobus purchased Arriva's premises in Crawley, moved the company headquarters (along with all non-London routes) there and began to develop a commercial bus network in the town.
In October 2009, there was further expansion in the fleet as Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...

 decided to sell their Horsham bus operations to Metrobus. Metrobus took over operation of various Horsham town routes, route 93 to Dorking and London Buses route 465
London Buses route 465
London Buses route 465 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.-History:...

 which is run under contract to Transport for London. Operations moved to Metrobus' existing depot in Crawley, away from the previous garage in Warnham
Warnham
Warnham is a village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The village is some three kilometres north west of central Horsham to the west of the A24 road...

. All of Arriva's single deckers based at Warnham transferred to Metrobus. Six Alexander Dennis Enviro200s used on the 465 continued on that route. Six Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointers were kept and were refurbished internally and repainted (390, 393, 394, 395, 396 and 398), these are now used mainly on route 98 in Horsham, with a further six (388, 399, 397, 389, 391 and 392) being sold on to other operators. A solitary Volvo Olympian
Volvo Olympian
The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo at Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian....

/Northern Counties double decker remained in operation with Arriva.

Quality Line
Quality Line
Quality Line is the trading name of the bus division of Epsom Coaches, and operates over sixty buses throughout the south London and Surrey area, with many under contract to London Buses or Surrey County Council.-History:...

 have successfully gained the contract for TfL route 465 and from 30 June 2012, it will be operated from their Epsom (EB) garage.

Bus types in use

  • Scania OmniDekka
    Scania OmniDekka
    The Scania OmniDekka is a double-decker bus built for sale in the UK...

     10.6m.
  • Scania OmniCity
    Scania OmniCity
    The Scania OmniCity is an integrally-constructed transverse-engined low floor citybus available on the European market. The OmniCity is a complete product built in Poland by Scania AB, a company based in Sweden....

    , both double-deck 10.6m and single-deck 12m types.
  • Dennis Dart SLF 8.8, 10.2 & 10.7m, with Plaxton Pointer
    Plaxton Pointer
    The Plaxton Pointer is a successful single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Plaxton and latterly built by Alexander Dennis.With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m...

    , newer Plaxton Pointer 2, Alexander ALX200
    Alexander ALX200
    The Alexander ALX200 was a midibus body built by Alexander of the United Kingdom. It was one of the ALX-series, which accounted for 5 different models , built for new generation bus chassis produced since late 1990s.It was designed by John Worker, and was launched in summer...

     and Caetano Nimbus
    Caetano Nimbus
    The Caetano Nimbus was a bus body built by Salvador Caetano in Waterlooville, Hampshire, England, between 1999 and 2007. It was constructed exclusively on the Dennis Dart SLF....

     bodywork (Used mainly in Horsham and Crawley).
  • Alexander Dennis Enviro200Dart
    Alexander Dennis Enviro200Dart
    The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart is a midibus manufactured by Alexander Dennis for the British market as the successor of the Dart SLF chassis and Pointer body.-Design:...

     10.2m for TfL route 465. New examples on order.
  • Dennis Dart SLF 10.7m / Plaxton Pointer 2 Trainer.
  • Dennis Dart
    Dennis Dart
    The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....

     10.8m / Marshall C37 Trainer.
  • Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m / Marshall Capital
    Marshall Capital
    The Marshall Capital was a single-decker bus body built by Marshall between 1997 and 2003. It was typically placed on the Dennis Dart SLF chassis, but it was also built on other chassis and used to rebody older chassis....

     Trainer.

Croydon (C)

The Croydon garage holds 130 buses, and runs London bus routes 64
London Buses route 64
London Buses route 64 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.-History:...

, 75
London Buses route 75
London Buses route 75 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.-History:...

, 24-hour route 119, 127, 130
London Buses route 130
London Buses route 130 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.-History:...

, 202, 293
London Buses route 293
London Buses route 293 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.-History:Route 293 was begun in April 1970, replacing route 93 between North Cheam and Epsom...

, 359, 405, X26
London Buses route X26
London Buses route X26 is a Transport for London contracted bus route from Heathrow Airport to West Croydon. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.The route is the longest London Buses route in London.-History:...

, school route 612 and Tramlink feeder routes T32 and T33
London Buses route T33
London Buses Route T33 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus....

 and night route N64 .

History

The Beddington Lane depot was opened by Metrobus in December 2005 to house route 127 which had been surrendered early by the now defunct operator Centra
Centra (bus company)
Centra was one of many operators of London Buses. They were the transport division of Central Parking Systems of UK Limited who acquired the assets of Wimco Group Coaches Limited in August 2004...

. Work was completed on the garage buildings in February 2006. This garage took over the London routes that ran from Godstone with the exception of the 146 and 246 which moved to Orpington.

On 29 August 2009, Route 64 received new Scania OmniCity
Scania OmniCity
The Scania OmniCity is an integrally-constructed transverse-engined low floor citybus available on the European market. The OmniCity is a complete product built in Poland by Scania AB, a company based in Sweden....

 double deckers replacing the existing OmniDekka vehicles, some of them being repainted for Crawley work, 4 buses were transferred to Go-Ahead's Isle of Wight outstation, Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...

. However, the new OmniCitys had been placed on the 119 temporarily due to tree issues in the South Croydon/Selsdon area. As of 11 January 2010, the OmniCitys had started operating on the route displacing older OmniDekkas for use on the 119.
Route 119 has been retained with Metrobus following an extension of its contract, along with the 130. No new buses will be bought, but older buses will be refurbished and retrimmed in the new Crawley 'blue moon' moquette.

Quality Line
Quality Line
Quality Line is the trading name of the bus division of Epsom Coaches, and operates over sixty buses throughout the south London and Surrey area, with many under contract to London Buses or Surrey County Council.-History:...

 have successfully gained the contract for route X26 and from 14 April 2012, it will be operated from their Epsom (EB) garage.

Abellio London have successfully gained the contract for route T33 and from 19 May 2012, it will be operated from their Beddington (BC) garage.

Bus types in use

  • Scania OmniDekka
    Scania OmniDekka
    The Scania OmniDekka is a double-decker bus built for sale in the UK...

     10.6m for routes 119, 127 and 405.
  • Scania OmniCity
    Scania OmniCity
    The Scania OmniCity is an integrally-constructed transverse-engined low floor citybus available on the European market. The OmniCity is a complete product built in Poland by Scania AB, a company based in Sweden....

     10.6m double-deck for routes 64, 293,612 and N64.
  • Scania OmniCity
    Scania OmniCity
    The Scania OmniCity is an integrally-constructed transverse-engined low floor citybus available on the European market. The OmniCity is a complete product built in Poland by Scania AB, a company based in Sweden....

     12m single-deck for routes 293 and X26.
  • Dennis Dart SLF 10.7m / Plaxton Pointer 2 for routes 130, 359 and T33.
  • MAN 14.240 10.8m / Enviro200 for route T32.
  • MAN 14.240 10.8m / MCV Evolution
    MCV Evolution
    The MCV Evolution is a single-decker bus bodywork built by Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles. It was unveiled in late 2004.This body is based on the frame of the Stirling but has been drastically restyled, incorporating a new roof-dome , and other new mouldings...

     for route 202.
  • Scania N230UD
    Scania N-series
    Scania N-series is a series of city bus with straight-up, transversely mounted Euro IV/Euro V engine at the rear.It is available as N230UB, N270UB as well as the N230UD and N270UD...

     10.6m / Optare Olympus
    Optare Olympus
    The Optare Olympus is a double-decker bus built by Optare...

     for route 75.

Orpington (MB)

The Green Street Green garage holds 189 buses, and runs London bus routes 54
London Buses route 54
London Buses route 54 is a Transport for London bus route in the United Kingdom, it is now contracted to Metrobus.-Bases:Before 2009, when Stagecoach Selkent ran the route under tender from Transport for London, the 54 was based based at Catford garage, although other depots, notably Plumstead,...

, 119 (night service only on this 24-hour route), 138, 146, 161, 162, 181, 261, 284, 320, 336, 352, 353, 358, 367, 464, B14, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11, and school route 654.

History

A former farm, Green Street Green depot was for many years the only garage for all of Metrobus' London tendered routes since the award of route 61 in 1986. More recently routes have been operated from Godstone and in December 2005 a new depot was constructed in Croydon to cope with new tender awards. During mid-2005 major reconstruction started on the Green Street Green site to make improvements and provide an expansion. During these works, a temporary base was being used at Polhill in Kent next to the base of what was Southlands Travel.

Bus types in use

  • Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 8.9m for routes 162 and B14. To be introduced on routes R1, R4 and R11 from December 2011.
  • Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart 10.2m for route R9.
  • Dennis Dart SLF 8.8m / Plaxton Pointer 2 for routes 138, 336, 352, 464, R5, R7 and R10.
  • Dennis Dart SLF 10.2m / Plaxton Pointer 2 on long-term loan from Go-Ahead London
    Go-Ahead London
    Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands...

     for route 358.
  • Dennis Dart SLF 8.8m / East Lancs Esteem for routes 138, 146, 336 and 367.
  • Dennis Dart SLF 8.8m / Marshall Capital
    Marshall Capital
    The Marshall Capital was a single-decker bus body built by Marshall between 1997 and 2003. It was typically placed on the Dennis Dart SLF chassis, but it was also built on other chassis and used to rebody older chassis....

     for routes R1, R3, R4, R6 and R11.
  • MAN 12.240 10.2m / East Lancs Esteem for route R2.
  • Optare Solo SE 7.1m for route R8.
  • Scania OmniCity
    Scania OmniCity
    The Scania OmniCity is an integrally-constructed transverse-engined low floor citybus available on the European market. The OmniCity is a complete product built in Poland by Scania AB, a company based in Sweden....

     single-deck 12m for route 358.
  • Scania OmniCity
    Scania OmniCity
    The Scania OmniCity is an integrally-constructed transverse-engined low floor citybus available on the European market. The OmniCity is a complete product built in Poland by Scania AB, a company based in Sweden....

     double-deck 10.6m for route 320.
  • Scania OmniDekka
    Scania OmniDekka
    The Scania OmniDekka is a double-decker bus built for sale in the UK...

     10.6m for routes 119, 161, 261, 320, 353 and 654.
  • Scania OmniTown
    Scania OmniTown
    The Scania OmniTown was a bus body sold in the United Kingdom. It utilised the Scania N94UB chassis , with East Lancashire Coachbuilders bodywork. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the OmniTown chassis or the Dennis Dart chassis...

     10.5m / East Lancs Esteem for routes 181 and 284.
  • Scania N230UD 10.6m / Optare Olympus
    Optare Olympus
    The Optare Olympus is a double-decker bus built by Optare...

     for route 54.

Metrobus in the Media

Metrobus has been involved in an NHS
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...

 advert, a Churchill car insurance advert in Croydon's Valley Park and several BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...

 adverts, where several of their buses were used.

A former Metrobus Dennis Dart/Plaxton Pointer (K709 KGU) was used in a bus racing challenge in Series 14(?) of BBC's Top Gear.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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