London’s route 148 to be served by new Routemasters

From Saturday 15 February route 148 will become the latest in the capital to be served entirely by New Routemasters.

Route 148, which runs 24-hours a day and is operated by London United, runs between Camberwell Green and White City Bus Station, via Elephant and Castle, Lambeth North, Westminster, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Lancaster Gate, Queensway, Notting Hill Gate, Holland Park and Shepherd’s Bush. During peak hours, 25 of the new buses will be in passenger service to carry the 22,000 people who travel on the route each week day.

The next route to be converted – the 10 – is also a 24-hour route operated by London United and runs between Hammersmith Bus Station and King’s Cross St Pancras, via Olympia, High Street Kensington, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road and Euston. Buses on route 10 will operate with the rear door open and a conductor on the rear platform for the majority of the day on weekdays (6am–6pm Monday to Friday). In the evenings and at weekends the rear platform will be closed when the bus is moving but all three sets of doors will be open and closed by the driver at bus stops. During peaks hours, 23 of these state of the art buses will be in passenger service to carry the 19,000 people who travel on the route each week day.

Leon Daniels, Transport for London’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: “The New Routemaster buses are becoming an increasingly familiar sight on the capital’s roads with the conversion of more routes continuing apace. With the introduction of the very latest Euro VI engines, the environmental credentials of the greenest diesel electric hybrid bus in the world are set to get even better.”

Every London bus route is different and as these buses are rolled out across the capital Transport for London (TfL) will consider the best possible operating arrangements on a route by route basis. As the Mayor has previously made clear, there will not be a requirement to have a conductor on every bus at all times¹. New Routemasters already operate without a conductor in the evenings on all routes, and at weekends on routes 9, 24 and 390. Buses on route 148 will operate with the rear platform closed when the bus is moving, with large numbers of passengers able to quickly board and alight using all three sets of doors and two staircases at bus stops.

The New Routemaster is already the greenest diesel electric hybrid bus in the world and is set to get even greener with the introduction of the very latest Euro VI engines. A New Routemaster with a Euro VI engine will be tested in passenger service from March and will be followed by a further four proving vehicles in the spring. Full production of the New Routemaster with the Euro VI engine will start later this year.

1. 1Mayor’s Question Time, 17 October 2012 – http://www.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=42938