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Articulated buses in London

Main article: Articulated buses in the United Kingdom
Arriva London Mercedes-Benz Citaro on route 38 in 2008
Arriva London Mercedes-Benz Citaro on route 73 in 2006
First London Mercedes-Benz Citaro on route 18 in 2009
Stagecoach London Mercedes-Benz Citaro on route 453 in 2005
London General's Red Arrow articulated bus fleet at Waterloo garage in June 2006

Articulated buses, popularly called "bendy buses," were introduced to London in October 2001 when two Wright Eclipse Fusion bodied Volvo B7LAs were hired from First Hampshire & Dorset, one of which was repainted into First London's red livery, and six Wright Fusion bodied Volvo B10LAs from First Glasgow for a trial on route 207 between Shepherd's Bush and Hayes-By-Pass.[1][2]

In June 2002, new Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530Gs were introduced on Red Arrow services 507 and 521.[3][4] While articulated bus operation had been standard in several other countries for over 20 years, their use in the United Kingdom had been limited, with their introduction in London gaining a lot of press attention.[5][6] They were later introduced on routes 12, 18, 25, 29, 38, 73, 149, 207, 436 and 453, which were among the busiest routes of the TfL bus network.[7]

During the 2008 mayoral campaign, victorious Boris Johnson pledged to withdraw articulated buses on the grounds that they were unsuitable for London, and to introduce a modern version of the AEC Routemaster.[8] Withdrawals began in July 2009, when articulated buses on routes 38, 507 and 521 were replaced with conventional single and double decker buses, and a prototype for the New Routemaster was promised to be on the streets by 2012.[9][10] The last articulated buses were withdrawn in December 2011.[11]

  1. ^ 'Innovative' bendi buses BBC News 8 October 2001
  2. ^ Wharmby, Matthew (2016). The London Bendy Bus. Pen & Sword. pp. 8–11. ISBN 978-1-78383-172-2. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  3. ^ London transport - with a twist BBC News 5 June 2002
  4. ^ London gets first cash-free bendy buses Transport for London 5 June 2002
  5. ^ Tahir, Tariq (22 March 2004). "'Bendy bus' safety fears". Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  6. ^ Firebreathing buses threaten London The Register 24 March 2004
  7. ^ "What happened to London's bendy buses 10 years after being kicked out". 9 December 2021.
  8. ^ Scrap the bendy bus and bring back Routemasters, says Boris Evening Standard 11 September 2007
  9. ^ "The beginning of the end for the bendy bus" (Press release). Greater London Authority. 5 December 2008. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008.
  10. ^ A New Bus for London – Next steps Transport For London
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference final was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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