London Buses route E3

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E3
Stamford Brook route E3.jpg
Overview
Operator London United
Garage Stamford Brook (V)
Vehicle Scania OmniCity 10.8m
Peak vehicle requirement 26
Night-time Night bus N11
Route
Start Greenford
Via Hanwell
West Ealing
Northfields
Acton
Turnham Green
End Chiswick
Length 9 miles (14 km)
Service
Level Daily
Frequency 6-12 minutes
Journey time 45-72 minutes
Operates 04:26 until 01:37

London Buses route E3 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Greenford and Chiswick, it is operated by London United.

History

Route E3 was established on 30 November 1968 as a flat-fare route from Greenford to Chiswick via Hanwell, West Ealing, Northfields, Popes Lane, Acton and Turnham Green, replacing part of the former route 55.[1]

The route was initially operated by MBS-class AEC Merlins out of Hanwell garage (HL). These were stationed at both Hanwell (HL) and Turnham Green (V) garages. In 1975 the Merlins were replaced by shorter AEC Swifts, which in turn were replaced by Leyland Nationals in 1978. Double-deck operation was eventually introduced in 1981, provided by MCW Metrobuses.[2]

Turnham Green garage closed in 1980, its allocation transferring to the new Stamford Brook garage.[2] From 1983 route E3 was entirely operated by Hanwell.

When London Regional Transport was split into eleven pre-privatisation subsidiaries in late 1988, route E3 came under the control of CentreWest. In 1990, the route was converted to minibus operation using RW-class Wright Nimbus bodied Renault S75s, marketed under the E-Line brand, and the long-closed Acton Tram Depot was re-opened to provide an allocation.[3] In March 1993, Hanwell garage closed, with the RWs transferred to the new Greenford garage.

CentreWest was privatised in a management buyout in September 1994, before being acquired by FirstGroup in March 1997. First London retained route E3 upon it being re-tendered in May 1997, replacing the RWs with Marshall Capital bodied Dennis Dart SLFs. From this point onwards, the route's entire allocation was stationed at Greenford.

On 25 May 2002, route E3 was converted to full low-floor double-deck operation with Plaxton President bodied Dennis Trident 2s, after First London again retained the route upon it being re-tendered. In May 2009, First London retained route E3 introducing new Alexander Dennis Enviro400s.

On 22 June 2013, route E3 was included in the sale of First London's Greenford garage to Metroline.[4][5] Upon being re-tendered, on 31 May 2014 the route passed to London United with Scania OmniCitys.[6][7]

Current route

References

  1. The London Transport Merlins Ian's Bus Stop
  2. 2.0 2.1 Wharmby, Matthew, The London Metrobus (Ian Allan Publishing, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7110-3377-1
  3. London Buses Renault-Dodge S75 Ian's Bus Stop
  4. First quits London bus business Bus & Coach Professional 9 April 2013
  5. Date set for Aussie takeover of London bus routes Australasian Bus & Coach 14 June 2013
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Tender News BusTalk (Go-Ahead London) issue 25 December 2013

External links