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Post by rif153 on Mar 24, 2020 15:59:11 GMT
So you think Abellio will win it then 😉 Realistic guess, but then maybe TFL surprise us all and give it to Arriva 185 will be a very interesting one to watch, I see it as a three horse race between Abellio (WL), GAL (Q) and Stagecoach (TL) with Arriva as the outsiders - given N is further from the route than any of the other three garages. The 185 has been at Go Ahead for just over a decade now, but would be interesting to see Stagecoach in Camberwell if they were to win the route.
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Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 24, 2020 22:58:47 GMT
Realistic guess, but then maybe TFL surprise us all and give it to Arriva 185 will be a very interesting one to watch, I see it as a three horse race between Abellio (WL), GAL (Q) and Stagecoach (TL) with Arriva as the outsiders - given N is further from the route than any of the other three garages. The 185 has been at Go Ahead for just over a decade now, but would be interesting to see Stagecoach in Camberwell if they were to win the route. Before the London Easylink saga, the route was run by Stagecoach with Titans from [TL] IIRC
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2020 11:11:53 GMT
Ironically 2 double decks today at KB but I believe for storage reasons only. As far as 185, I am not saying stagecoach will win it, but I am pretty sure GoAhead wont retain that route. What makes you say that. Pretty bold sounding statement.
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Post by ThinLizzy on Mar 25, 2020 11:44:46 GMT
Ironically 2 double decks today at KB but I believe for storage reasons only. As far as 185, I am not saying stagecoach will win it, but I am pretty sure GoAhead wont retain that route. What makes you say that. Pretty bold sounding statement. Think Uno might win it tbh....
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2020 12:41:05 GMT
What makes you say that. Pretty bold sounding statement. Think Uno might win it tbh.... Woah, woah..chill out! That sounds too rational to be sensible.
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Post by Pilot on Mar 25, 2020 15:50:21 GMT
Ironically 2 double decks today at KB but I believe for storage reasons only. As far as 185, I am not saying stagecoach will win it, but I am pretty sure GoAhead wont retain that route. What makes you say that. Pretty bold sounding statement. I know for fact it's one of the most reported routes by other drivers, almost all routes that terminate in Lewisham stand can't stand 185 drivers, they're always parked illegally in bus stops or outside Lewisham Station, TFL already gave them bollocking from what I heard. Not to mention I know it's one of the routes with most accidents at least in that garage and what happened last week which I don't wanna overadvertise probably won't help them either in retaining it. But who knows, I know people are not a fan of bold guessing, neither am I but meh if I can retract my statement then I'll say I 'rather wish' other operator gets the route.
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Post by greenboy on Mar 25, 2020 15:56:47 GMT
What makes you say that. Pretty bold sounding statement. I know for fact it's one of the most reported routes by other drivers, almost all routes that terminate in Lewisham stand can't stand 185 drivers, they're always parked illegally in bus stops or outside Lewisham Station, TFL already gave them bollocking from what I heard. Not to mention I know it's one of the routes with most accidents at least in that garage and what happened last week which I don't wanna overadvertise probably won't help them either in retaining it. But who knows, I know people are not a fan of bold guessing, neither am I but meh if I can retract my statement then I'll say I 'rather wish' other operator gets the route. I've noticed a few 185 drivers not following protocol at Lewisham and I've heard some whispers about the fatal accident last Sunday but I'll say no more. I guess it's between Go Ahead, Abellio and Stagecoach? Hopefully with electrics.
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Post by rj131 on Mar 25, 2020 16:44:13 GMT
Realistic guess, but then maybe TFL surprise us all and give it to Arriva 185 will be a very interesting one to watch, I see it as a three horse race between Abellio (WL), GAL (Q) and Stagecoach (TL) with Arriva as the outsiders - given N is further from the route than any of the other three garages. The 185 has been at Go Ahead for just over a decade now, but would be interesting to see Stagecoach in Camberwell if they were to win the route. I didn’t know how varied the 185 was until I looked it up due to this conversation. I thought it was a hardcore London Central/General route, being with them since it was created but it turns out it’s been far more bumpy than that, with the operator (EasyLink I think?) going into liquidation shortly after taking the route on and Selkent ran it before this. Never knew any of this! I can see Stagecoach smart hybrids suiting the 185 very well 😋 although to me like I’ve just said I’ve always known it as a hardcore GAL route.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2020 16:44:40 GMT
What makes you say that. Pretty bold sounding statement. I know for fact it's one of the most reported routes by other drivers, almost all routes that terminate in Lewisham stand can't stand 185 drivers, they're always parked illegally in bus stops or outside Lewisham Station, TFL already gave them bollocking from what I heard. Not to mention I know it's one of the routes with most accidents at least in that garage and what happened last week which I don't wanna overadvertise probably won't help them either in retaining it. But who knows, I know people are not a fan of bold guessing, neither am I but meh if I can retract my statement then I'll say I 'rather wish' other operator gets the route. None of which is compelling enough for them to loose the route though..I know worse that has happened at both companies I worked for and they still retained their routes. GAL are quite respectable too and given the size of the company and communities they serve, they do quite a good job. If the price is right they’ll retain it. It already has Euro6 Hybrids on it too..
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2020 17:20:33 GMT
What makes you say that. Pretty bold sounding statement. I know for fact it's one of the most reported routes by other drivers, almost all routes that terminate in Lewisham stand can't stand 185 drivers, they're always parked illegally in bus stops or outside Lewisham Station, TFL already gave them bollocking from what I heard. Not to mention I know it's one of the routes with most accidents at least in that garage and what happened last week which I don't wanna overadvertise probably won't help them either in retaining it. But who knows, I know people are not a fan of bold guessing, neither am I but meh if I can retract my statement then I'll say I 'rather wish' other operator gets the route. I have to agree with you there. The 185 drivers at Lewisham always infuriate me standing outside the DLR on the alighting point. 484 drivers are often culprits as well. I wonder if it's drivers doing it off their own back or if controllers are instructing drivers not to go to the stand as it's always the same routes doing it.
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Post by VWH1414 on Mar 25, 2020 18:36:34 GMT
185 will be a very interesting one to watch, I see it as a three horse race between Abellio (WL), GAL (Q) and Stagecoach (TL) with Arriva as the outsiders - given N is further from the route than any of the other three garages. The 185 has been at Go Ahead for just over a decade now, but would be interesting to see Stagecoach in Camberwell if they were to win the route. I didn’t know how varied the 185 was until I looked it up due to this conversation. I thought it was a hardcore London Central/General route, being with them since it was created but it turns out it’s been far more bumpy than that, with the operator (EasyLink I think?) going into liquidation shortly after taking the route on and Selkent ran it before this. Never knew any of this! I can see Stagecoach smart hybrids suiting the 185 very well 😋 although to me like I’ve just said I’ve always known it as a hardcore GAL route. The route has had a fairly interesting history pre-2010 - Was with Selkent from the 90s until January 2001, then went to London Easylink, who ran it with the X-FBB VP's. This didn't last long though as on 21st August 2002 Easylink went into liquidation - Which led to Blue Triangle (When it was still independent) taking on an emergency contract to cover it, which saw a variety of vehicles cover the route such as this and this. Other operators also stepped in to help such as London General and London Central who provided some PVLs, and other companies such as Amber Lee, Carousel Buses, Imperial Buses, Redroute Buses and Sullivan Buses also helped providing vehicles, during the break in school terms when their vehicles were spare. Arrivas Original Sightseeing Tour also operated some closed top Ms on the route for a period too. After over a month of service like this First and TfL subsidiary East Thames Buses ran a joint operation on the route with Stagecoach providing extras on the 53 (Which parallels the southern section of the route. By December 2002 the 185 was declared Londons fifth most unreliable service! By April 2003 the route finally settled with East Thames buses from the Belvedere (BV) base, originally with Dennis Dart SLF/Caetano Compass buses like this, but they were soon replaced by the VPs initially ordered by Easylink in 2001 for the route. In 2006 it then had part of its allocation transferred to Mandela Way (MA) with some VWLs introduced to the route. Then of course in October 2009 it became a GAL route when they bought East Thames Buses, they transferred it to Camberwell (Q) in May 2010. It kept the VPs until 2013 when they were replaced with VWLs & WVLs. Funnily enough this route has been run by several of the GAL companies over its time - Blue Triangle when they had the temporary contract, London General when they loaned some vehicles for it and London Central currently run it. Arriva have also technically had dealing with it during the time they loaned some Original Sightseeing Tour Ms for the route during the troubles. Would be interesting to see it move again.
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Post by redexpress on Mar 25, 2020 20:46:17 GMT
185 will be a very interesting one to watch, I see it as a three horse race between Abellio (WL), GAL (Q) and Stagecoach (TL) with Arriva as the outsiders - given N is further from the route than any of the other three garages. The 185 has been at Go Ahead for just over a decade now, but would be interesting to see Stagecoach in Camberwell if they were to win the route. I didn’t know how varied the 185 was until I looked it up due to this conversation. I thought it was a hardcore London Central/General route, being with them since it was created but it turns out it’s been far more bumpy than that, with the operator (EasyLink I think?) going into liquidation shortly after taking the route on and Selkent ran it before this. Never knew any of this! I can see Stagecoach smart hybrids suiting the 185 very well 😋 although to me like I’ve just said I’ve always known it as a hardcore GAL route. The route was created in 1951. Go-Ahead entered London in 1994. So it would be difficult for them to have operated the route since its creation!
I know you probably know this already, but prior to the mid-1980s, every route in London was operated by London Buses. The various subsidiaries (London Central, Selkent, Centrewest etc.) didn't exist, so it doesn't make much sense to talk about routes having been operated by GAL (or Stagecoach or Metroline etc) for more than 30 years.
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Post by redexpress on Mar 25, 2020 20:58:10 GMT
I didn’t know how varied the 185 was until I looked it up due to this conversation. I thought it was a hardcore London Central/General route, being with them since it was created but it turns out it’s been far more bumpy than that, with the operator (EasyLink I think?) going into liquidation shortly after taking the route on and Selkent ran it before this. Never knew any of this! I can see Stagecoach smart hybrids suiting the 185 very well 😋 although to me like I’ve just said I’ve always known it as a hardcore GAL route. The route has had a fairly interesting history pre-2010 - Was with Selkent from the 90s until January 2001, then went to London Easylink, who ran it with the X-FBB VP's. This didn't last long though as on 21st August 2002 Easylink went into liquidation - Which led to Blue Triangle (When it was still independent) taking on an emergency contract to cover it, which saw a variety of vehicles cover the route such as this and this. Other operators also stepped in to help such as London General and London Central who provided some PVLs, and other companies such as Amber Lee, Carousel Buses, Imperial Buses, Redroute Buses and Sullivan Buses also helped providing vehicles, during the break in school terms when their vehicles were spare. Arrivas Original Sightseeing Tour also operated some closed top Ms on the route for a period too. After over a month of service like this First and TfL subsidiary East Thames Buses ran a joint operation on the route with Stagecoach providing extras on the 53 (Which parallels the southern section of the route. By December 2002 the 185 was declared Londons fifth most unreliable service! By April 2003 the route finally settled with East Thames buses from the Belvedere (BV) base, originally with Dennis Dart SLF/Caetano Compass buses like this, but they were soon replaced by the VPs initially ordered by Easylink in 2001 for the route. In 2006 it then had part of its allocation transferred to Mandela Way (MA) with some VWLs introduced to the route. Then of course in October 2009 it became a GAL route when they bought East Thames Buses, they transferred it to Camberwell (Q) in May 2010. It kept the VPs until 2013 when they were replaced with VWLs & WVLs. Funnily enough this route has been run by several of the GAL companies over its time - Blue Triangle when they had the temporary contract, London General when they loaned some vehicles for it and London Central currently run it. Arriva have also technically had dealing with it during the time they loaned some Original Sightseeing Tour Ms for the route during the troubles. Would be interesting to see it move again. Nice summary of the 185's interesting history! London Easylink's collapse was very sudden; drivers were radioed in mid-afternoon and told to terminate their bus at the next stop and run straight back to the yard. I had quite a few interesting rides on the route in the aftermath, with all sorts of odd buses turning up. Thankfully ETB's Caetano Darts never formed the full allocation - no way would they have coped! It was mostly DDs.
Just a small point - the extras on the 53 had nothing to do with the 185 fiasco. IIRC a sinkhole had closed Blackheath Hill for several months, resulting in the 53 being under severe pressure. Stagecoach couldn't supply enough extras so Blue Triangle - who were still a small independent operator at the time - helped out with extras over part of the route. Blue Triangle were specialists in supplying drivers at short notice, at a time when many of the big operators were struggling with driver shortages.
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Post by rj131 on Mar 25, 2020 21:06:08 GMT
I didn’t know how varied the 185 was until I looked it up due to this conversation. I thought it was a hardcore London Central/General route, being with them since it was created but it turns out it’s been far more bumpy than that, with the operator (EasyLink I think?) going into liquidation shortly after taking the route on and Selkent ran it before this. Never knew any of this! I can see Stagecoach smart hybrids suiting the 185 very well 😋 although to me like I’ve just said I’ve always known it as a hardcore GAL route. The route was created in 1951. Go-Ahead entered London in 1994. So it would be difficult for them to have operated the route since its creation!
I know you probably know this already, but prior to the mid-1980s, every route in London was operated by London Buses. The various subsidiaries (London Central, Selkent, Centrewest etc.) didn't exist, so it doesn't make much sense to talk about routes having been operated by GAL (or Stagecoach or Metroline etc) for more than 30 years.
Ah right I didn’t realise the 185 had been going that long at all, I thought it was created in 1982 but that was just the year it was curtailed from Blackwall to form more or less the route we know today, and yes I was aware privatisation came in the mid 80s😁
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Post by ThinLizzy on Mar 25, 2020 23:06:46 GMT
185 will be a very interesting one to watch, I see it as a three horse race between Abellio (WL), GAL (Q) and Stagecoach (TL) with Arriva as the outsiders - given N is further from the route than any of the other three garages. The 185 has been at Go Ahead for just over a decade now, but would be interesting to see Stagecoach in Camberwell if they were to win the route. I didn’t know how varied the 185 was until I looked it up due to this conversation. I thought it was a hardcore London Central/General route, being with them since it was created but it turns out it’s been far more bumpy than that, with the operator (EasyLink I think?) going into liquidation shortly after taking the route on and Selkent ran it before this. Never knew any of this! I can see Stagecoach smart hybrids suiting the 185 very well 😋 although to me like I’ve just said I’ve always known it as a hardcore GAL route. I was one of the roadside supervisors on the 185 when Easylink went into liquidation. I think during my time there was 10 different operators on the route and all sorts of vehicles. The blind banditry thread would have had a field day with it
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