East London (bus company)

East London is one of many operators of bus services contracted to Transport for London, mainly in the east of the city. Its legal name is East London Bus & Coach Company Ltd, and it is currently owned largely by Stagecoach Group, as part of Stagecoach London.

History
East London was established in late 1988 and became a registered company on 1 April 1989. It was one of the 12 operating subsidiaries of London Buses Limited, and upon the privatisation of LBL in 1994 was acquired, along with Selkent, by the Stagecoach Group. The company subsequently traded as Stagecoach East London before, in November 2000, Stagecoach's London operations were rebranded simply as Stagecoach London, with buses receiving 'Stagecoach in London' fleetnames. Stagecoach sold these operations in 2006 to Macquarrie Bank and the East London fleetname reappeared, as did the Thames sailing barge logo used by the company during LBL days. The business was re-purchased Oct 2010 by Stagecoach.

Both the buses involved in the London bombings of 7 July 2005, and the attempted bombings two weeks later, belonged to Stagecoach London.

Garages
East London has six bus garages.

Barking (BK)
This runs London bus routes 5, 15, 62, 145, 169, 287, 366, 387, 396, Night route N15 and school route 687.

The current peak vehicle requirement is 107.

From 26 March 2011, Barking will retain routes 62, 145, 169, 287, 366, 387 & School Route 687 on new five year contracts using existing buses.

History
Barking garage was opened in 1924 by the London General Omnibus Company to cater for the increased demand from the new housing estates springing up in Becontree.

Barking is remembered by many enthusiasts as being the last garage to operate RTs on 7 April 1979. In 1992, it was intended to close this garage, along with those at North Street and Seven Kings, in favour of a new super-garage at Chadwell Heath. As it turned out, this super-garage was not built due to the land for it being contaminated, and only Seven Kings closed. Thus, by 1994, Barking found itself with a scheduled requirement for 109 buses, mainly Titans and DA-class Optare Deltas.

Bus types in use

 * Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400 9.9m & 10.5m for routes 5, 15, 145, 169, 287, 387, 687 and N15.
 * Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 2 10.2m for routes 62 and 366.
 * Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander ALX200 10.2m for routes 62 and 366.
 * Optare Versa 10.4m for route 396.

Bow (BW)
This garage holds 126 buses, and runs London bus routes 8, 26, 30, 24-hour route 205 and Night route N8.

The current peak vehicle requirement is 105.

History
Opened as a tram depot by the north Metropolitan Tramways Company in 1908 on land once occupied by an asylum, it was converted to operate trolley buses in 1939. It was converted to motor bus operation in 1959 including the installation of large overground fuel tanks. Shortly after its conversion, it took up the allocation of the nearby Clay Hall garage when that closed.

The garage has had a long association with the Routemaster, receiving its first examples in the early 1960s, some of which remained right up until August 2004 when the type was withdrawn from route 8. In December 2007, Bow took over the running of Heritage route 15 from the closed Waterden Road garage until this moved to West Ham in June 2009, along with the last Routemaster built, RML2760, which features at special events.

Bus types in use

 * Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400 9.9m & 10.5m for routes 8, 26, 30, and N8.
 * Scania OmniCity 10.6m for route 205.

Leyton (T)
This garage runs London bus routes 26 (late and early journeys), 48, 55, 56, 69 (night service only on this 24-hour route), 97, 158, 215, 230, Night routes N26 and N55.

The current peak vehicle requirement is 112.

History
Leyton garage was built in 1912 by the London General Omnibus Company to replace an existing garage acquired from London Metropolitan, and was in an ideal position to benefit from developing areas. During the Second World War the garage suffered bomb damage but was not rebuilt until a major renovation in 1955.

The garage was the first to receive post-war RT's, 78 of which were allocated by 1947, and a further 30 were added for the trolleybus conversion program in 1959. RT operation at Leyton ended in 1972.

When the London Buses Limited subsidiaries were established, Leyton was taken up by the London Forest subsidiary. In 1991, plans to close the garage were a contributing factor in strike action by all of the company's staff, which ultimately resulted in the winding-up of London Forest, with Leyton garage passing to East London.

Leyton was the first garage for another bus type in 1999, when Stagecoach began taking delivery of low-floor Dennis Trident 2 10.5m/Alexander ALX400s. The current operational allocation is entirely low-floor.

Bus types in use

 * Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400 9.9m & 10.5m for routes 26, 55, 69, 97, 158, 230, N26 and N55.
 * Scania OmniCity 10.6m for route 48, 56 and 215.

Romford (North Street) (NS)
This garage runs London bus routes 86, 103, 175, 247, 294, 296, 496, school routes 608 and 647 as well as Night route N86.

The current peak vehicle requirement is 94. On 16th October 2010 the 296 will receive new buses. From 26th March 2011, Romford has retained routes 247 & 296 on new five year contracts

History
Romford garage is also called North Street (hence its NS code) as London Transport already had a 'country bus' garage: Romford (London Road). It was opened in 1953 to take the strain off nearby Hornchurch garage, and also to cope with the new Harold Hill estate. Built in the post-war style of an Underground station, it was initially able to house 115 buses, although only 67 were allocated when opened. The allocation grew to 90 by 1958.

In 1992, along with Barking and Seven Kings (which did subsequently close although due to loss of routes by competitive tender), the garage was earmarked for closure in favour of a new super-garage at Chadwell Heath, which ultimately was never built. By 1994, Romford was allocated 84 buses, mainly Titans. In 2004 the allocation had dropped slightly to 76, although with a good year of tender wins in 2005 the garage is up to full capacity. The garage was home to East London Coaches private hire operation from 1990 to 2005 when the section moved to the now closed Waterden Road garage.

Bus types in use

 * Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400 9.9m & 10.5m for routes 86, 103, 175, 247, 294, 496, 608, 647 and N86.
 * Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander ALX200 10.2m for route 296.

West Ham (WH)
This garage runs London bus routes 5, 15, Heritage route 15, 25, 69, 106, 147, 241, 257, 276, 277, 323, 488, D3, school route 678 and night bus N15.

The current peak vehicle requirement is 225. On 25th June 2011 the 25 will be awarded to First London.

History
The present West Ham garage was opened in February 2008 as the replacement for Stratford garage. Whilst construction work was underway, all major engineering work on its buses was carried out at Rainham. However, the garage became fully operational in November 2009 taking over its own maintenance. The new garage is able to hold over 300 buses. It is the biggest Bus garage in the UK and is the new location for East London Bus Group's head office and training centre.

Bus types in use

 * Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400 9.9m & 10.5m for routes 5, 15, 69, 147, 241, 257, 277, 678 and N15.
 * Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander ALX200 10.8m for route 276.
 * Alexander Dennis Enviro200Dart 10.2m for route 323, 488 and D3.
 * Mercedes-Benz Citaro G 18m for route 25.
 * Scania OmniCity 10.6m for route 106.
 * Optare Tempo Hybrid 10.6m for route 276.
 * Routemaster for routes 15 Heritage.
 * Alexander Dennis Enviro400 10.5m for routes 15, 69, 106, 241, 257, 277, 678 and N15.

Upton Park (U)
This garage runs London bus routes 101, 104, 115, 238, 262, 330, 376, 473 and Night route N550.

The current peak vehicle requirement is 92.

History
Prior to West Ham being built it was the largest garage in the east end of London, Upton Park was opened by the LRCC in 1907 but was requisitioned for the war effort in 1915 and was not returned to use until 1919. In 1931 it was totally revamped and enlarged to create a capacity of just over 200 buses. In 1988 the garage operated the X15 "Beckton Express" using ex-Green Line Routemaster RMCs. The service was a trial, and even sold newspapers to commuters on board.

Bus types in use

 * Dennis Dart SLF/Alexander ALX200 10.2m for Route 376.
 * DAF SB220LC550/Optare Delta (Trainer)
 * Scania N113CRL/Wright Pathfinder (Trainer)
 * Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400 9.9m & 10.5m for Routes 101, 104, 115, 238, 262, 330, 473 and N550.

Stratford (SD)
All operations from this garage were transferred to West Ham in February 2008 when the garage closed following a compulsory purchase for Olympic development.

History
Stratford garage, opened in 1992, was a large yard on an old industrial estate by the River Lea, opposite the Hackney garage which was owned by First London. It was originally called "Bow Midibus Base" on account of the fact that it housed midibuses which had been previously based at Bow and West Ham. It also operated buses with rooftop flashing beacons for the London City Airport contract.

One vehicle from this garage was destroyed in the London bombings of 7 July 2005. Thirteen passengers were killed, but the driver of the bus, George Psaradakis, escaped serious injury and was able to return to work a few weeks later. The bus was replaced in October 2005 by the first Alexander Dennis Enviro400 off the production line, which was named "Spirit of London" and it is now at West Ham.

Waterden Road (Stratford Olympic) (WA)
This garage closed in December 2007 due to a compulsory purchase order to enable work on the site for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

History
Waterden Road opened early in 2004 with an allocation for approximately 100 buses, mainly articulated Mercedes-Benz Citaros for route 25. By 2005, East London had relocated both its training centre and its private hire fleet to this garage. The private hire fleet was disbanded in 2007.

The garage had been open for less than four years when Olympics work forced its closure, the training centre subsequently moving to West Ham.