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| LT24 heading towards the forgotten village of Imber on 3rd August when it was opened for the day |
Deliveries of the New Bus for London continue and as previously
announced the next batch will enter service on route 11 on 21st September.
We are now able to announce the next two routes which will be converted by the end of the year, ensuring another 35,000 people a day will be able to enjoy the 'hop on hop off" experience.
On 26th October we will convert route 9 - Hammersmith to Aldwych - operated by London United with a peak vehicle requirement of 22 buses.
Early in December we will convert route 390, operated by Metroline between Notting Hill Gate and Archway with a further 20 vehicles.
Our brand new fleet of revolutionary buses will, by the end of the year, be familiar in Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Strand and Oxford Street.
The buses have also been busy promoting British technology at home and abroad. After leaving the USA, LT1 journeyed to Bogota after which it will head to the Far East. Another vehicle is already doing similar duties in Europe and a third vehicle is likely to be added to the tour. Wherever they go they attract huge attention and continue to promote Britain and British industry.
LT7 also had its moment of fame last weekend, starring on Top Gear driven expertly by James May in a 9 minute segment. On the roads of Somerset and on the test track the bus was put through its paces - managing a three-point turn and demonstrating its tremendous manoeuvrability.
So whether on screen or on the road, or on a major London street - look out for the New Bus for London!
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I have my own opinion and only my opinion about route 9 and 15 being converted to NBFL. I personally think they should be the last ones to be converted to NBFL operation because of the Heritage Routemaster that runs along side route 9 and 15.
ReplyDeleteBut anyway will be looking forward to seeing a photo of LT and the RM together on the same route.
I also hope the NBFL does the route N9 for its night service to greet the visitors from around the world at Heathrow Airport. :)
And I quite enjoyed watching Top Gear with James May doing a review on the New Bus for London. I also noticed I seen the NBFL and the Enviro400 Spirit of London being featured at the end of Top Gear programme.
And with the NBFL on a world tour. It will bring spirit of the new iconic London double decker bus to the new generation around the world. This is history in the making by having the new London Bus onto the roads of Central London. Then the tourists will know which is the real London Bus when they visit London. With the Routemaster, I believe that the next tendering will be up by next year for the routes 9H and 15H. I don't know what to say about it and its one of their legacy for London Transport services like the 1938 Tube Stock which is preserved. :)
I also agree with FreeBBC on his opinion about Route 9 and 15 being converted to NB4L.
ReplyDeleteI would be proud if N9's Night Service used NB4L's as it'll greet visitors around the world at Heathrow.
I've also enjoyed watching Top Gear with James May doing a fantastic review on the New Bus for London.
As I hate the New Bus for London, I'm planning to start a petition for ANTIBORISBUS4LONDON as I believe TFL can get quality hybrid buses for cheaper. Thus, saving TFL more money that could be invested elsewhere. The NB4L is longer than normal buses which causes a problem and the Oyster Readers in the middle and hop on section of the bus causes Fare Evasion when in OPO (One Person Operation).
Well you can start your petition but I'm afraid the position is the Mayor promised in his manifesto 600 New Buses and was elected on that basis.
DeleteHaving been democratically elected he has a mandate to do this and so that is what we are doing!
Hello Leon,
DeleteAny chance that LT80, when delivered, might have ome commemorative liveryto mark the LT 80th anniversary?
Nick
Boris has also broken many of his manifesto commitments. Many were broken within a year. Breaking another one wouldn't hurt him.
DeleteBut he does like his follies. Pointless buses, empty cablecars...
I travelled briefly on the lower deck of a 24 today. it was commendably quiet... I thought "trolleybus".... and the attendant was a fantastic ambassador for himself, London and TfL talking up the sightseeing potential of route 24.
ReplyDeleteIt good to see a bus on Top Gear for a change.
ReplyDeleteBut frankly, I was very surprised that James May was allowed to abuse LT7 in the way that he did, bashing low hanging tree branches, knocking over an A board while turning in a narrow Somerset dead-end street, colliding with a Volkswagen beetle and forcing racing drivers off course on the race track - the sort of thing that ignorant people might believe bus drivers enjoy on the highway.
Whilst any publicity is good publicity, I wasn't convinced that this did very much good for TfL or the bus industry, in general.
As james may and his cohorts from top gear hate london bus drivers with a vengeance he should not have been allowed within a mile of the nb4l
DeleteTravelled on route 24 again today. There's an incredibly ugly diagonal black painted steel strut running from bodyside near the lower saloon ceiling to the floor on the wheel arch side of the rear entrance. On this particular vehicle there was an almighty graunching noise from the area where the top of this strut fixes to the body.
ReplyDeleteCant praise the new bus 4 London any more highly,easily the best vehicle since the last rear platform bus.
ReplyDeleteI find it shocking that the 11 bus,390 and 9 routes in length have not been reviewed with priority being nearer to their original routemaster length.
for eg 11 should start from Hammersmith where it did in its crew days previously
ReplyDeleteGlad you really like New Bus for London. Every day I get calls from people who want them on their route.
ReplyDeleteBut we run the routes passed on today's passenger demand not where they used to go. These routes do what we want them to do - and for example the 211 looks after the demand at the Hammersmith end.
Ok thanks...who is having final say on routes that get them? In addition to the four routes already i personally would go for 6,7,8,14,23,30,31,36,55,68,74,88,148,....Also once the 600 are fully allocated,how likely would it be that another 600 are ordered and the existing 600 are spread out on other routes keeping the most cherished routes with ne
ReplyDeleteWish vehicles? IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE SAME NUMBER OF LTS AS PREVIOUS REAR PLATFORM VEHICLES AT THEIR PEAK
I dont know how you can say that johnson was elected because of these buses. He was elected because people were fed up with livingstone and at his second election nobody else was really viable. As for the customer service assistants will they be got rid of when the 2015 cuts come in or are you going to scrap other bus routes to keep them on?
ReplyDeleteI think Boris Johnson has done tremendously well to improve transport for london with these delightful new buses. ken Livingstone should never have removed the rm's without a decent replacement in place.
ReplyDeleteI agree about livinstone but johnson wants to reduce the amount of buses on londons roads in favour of cyclists.he should NOT be trusted
DeleteWell certain routes have buses that run empty so less buses is not such a bad thing,especially with mobile apps being a walking timetable and people generally knowing roughly when a bus is due!!
ReplyDeleteReally like New Bus for London.Traveled on route 24 again today.
ReplyDelete----------------------------------------
Miami Beach Real Estate
The 11 route has a seperate N11 route that goes in other areas,does this mean unlike night service on route 24 the nb4l will not be used?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpOYP6_1pR0 <<Just looking at the buses going past Big Ben over westminster bridge and even the hybrid vehicles on route 12 look ghastly. If ever there was proof how desperate that london needed something looking anything like the RMS here is the proof!!!! Hopefully within 2 years all routes going past this landmark will be NB4L.
ReplyDeleteThe buses are not unique to London at all,can jump on these plain looking buses anywhere in the country!!!!
How many other ex routemaster bus routes like the 94 have failed the test?
ReplyDeleteNice.thank you so much sharing useful information
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