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Post by ibus246 on Apr 16, 2023 20:29:51 GMT
I’ve only ever known the 61 and 314 routes being operated by Stagecoach London ( Selkent). Atleast for over 20 years or so. The R routes seem to only be operated by GoAhead ( Metrobus) with the exception of the R 5, R 10 and R 7 that went to Stagecoach for a while. I’m not sure if Stagecoach still operate those routes or not now though. I don’t think those 3 routes are particularly busy or make much profit so was surprised Stagecoach wanted them when they did. All the R routes are operated by Go-Ahead now. Of course the operator would have zero interest in passenger numbers/revenue as all the revenue goes to TfL. The profit element would come in performance bonuses and the original tender price.
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Post by DT 11 on Apr 16, 2023 20:53:09 GMT
I’ve only ever known the 61 and 314 routes being operated by Stagecoach London ( Selkent). Atleast for over 20 years or so. The R routes seem to only be operated by GoAhead ( Metrobus) with the exception of the R 5, R 10 and R 7 that went to Stagecoach for a while. I’m not sure if Stagecoach still operate those routes or not now though. I don’t think those 3 routes are particularly busy or make much profit so was surprised Stagecoach wanted them when they did. The 61 was away from TB for about 20 years before returning in 2006. 10 Years with Metrobus and 10 Years with First Orpington.
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Post by redexpress on Apr 16, 2023 22:17:34 GMT
I’ve only ever known the 61 and 314 routes being operated by Stagecoach London ( Selkent). Atleast for over 20 years or so. The R routes seem to only be operated by GoAhead ( Metrobus) with the exception of the R 5, R 10 and R 7 that went to Stagecoach for a while. I’m not sure if Stagecoach still operate those routes or not now though. I don’t think those 3 routes are particularly busy or make much profit so was surprised Stagecoach wanted them when they did. For TfL contracted routes it doesn't matter how busy the routes are. All fares go to TfL - the operator's revenue depends only on how well they run the route with respect to reliability targets. You could run a route that carries fresh air all day and still make a healthy profit if you run it on time.
Metrobus may have a monopoly on the R routes now but it wasn't always that way. Despite being well-located for the R network, Metrobus didn't pick up their first R route until 2003 when they won the R5 and R7. They became the sole operator of R routes in late 2007 when they bought out First's Orpington operation. Since then the only incursion has been Stagecoach's spell on the R5/R10 and R7.
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Post by rogerout on Apr 16, 2023 22:51:46 GMT
Oh yes- I completely forgot that Metrobus and First have run the 61 route! I vaguely remember the 61 being a blue bus - presumably that was Metrobus?. When First closed their depot in St Mary Cray, I believe most of their drivers split between Metrobus and Selkent. By all accounts is was a good place to work.
So until 2007, Orpington and Bromley had three bus companies in the area all competing for routes. First and Metrobus in Orpington and Selkent in Bromley Common.
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Post by vjaska on Apr 16, 2023 23:57:33 GMT
Oh yes- I completely forgot that Metrobus and First have run the 61 route! I vaguely remember the 61 being a blue bus - presumably that was Metrobus?. When First closed their depot in St Mary Cray, I believe most of their drivers split between Metrobus and Selkent. By all accounts is was a good place to work. So until 2007, Orpington and Bromley had three bus companies in the area all competing for routes. First and Metrobus in Orpington and Selkent in Bromley Common. Metrobus did indeed run it with Fleetlines in the iconic blue and yellow livery
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Post by southlondonbus on Apr 17, 2023 7:22:52 GMT
Oh yes- I completely forgot that Metrobus and First have run the 61 route! I vaguely remember the 61 being a blue bus - presumably that was Metrobus?. When First closed their depot in St Mary Cray, I believe most of their drivers split between Metrobus and Selkent. By all accounts is was a good place to work. So until 2007, Orpington and Bromley had three bus companies in the area all competing for routes. First and Metrobus in Orpington and Selkent in Bromley Common. Metrobus did indeed run it with Fleetlines in the iconic blue and yellow livery That became a pretty standard livery in the Bromley area really. By 2000 the 119, 138, 146, 246, 261, 320, 336, 351, 352, 358 and 367 were all operating non red buses as was the 126 with Kent Thames side Blue. Would have almost have felt like not being in London back then.
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Post by Dillon95 on Apr 24, 2023 21:05:15 GMT
I’ve only ever known the 61 and 314 routes being operated by Stagecoach London ( Selkent). Atleast for over 20 years or so. The R routes seem to only be operated by GoAhead ( Metrobus) with the exception of the R 5, R 10 and R 7 that went to Stagecoach for a while. I’m not sure if Stagecoach still operate those routes or not now though. I don’t think those 3 routes are particularly busy or make much profit so was surprised Stagecoach wanted them when they did. The 61 was away from TB for about 20 years before returning in 2006. 10 Years with Metrobus and 10 Years with First Orpington. Slightly off topic but where was First’s garage in Orpington? I read above that it was in St Mary Cray, but where exactly? I remember some of the R buses being ran by First when I was a little kid but I don’t remember seeing the garage. There was another operator around Orpington in the late 90s/early 00s IIRC, Crystals or something like that.
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Post by greenboy on Apr 24, 2023 21:16:48 GMT
The 61 was away from TB for about 20 years before returning in 2006. 10 Years with Metrobus and 10 Years with First Orpington. Slightly off topic but where was First’s garage in Orpington? I read above that it was in St Mary Cray, but where exactly? I remember some of the R buses being ran by First when I was a little kid but I don’t remember seeing the garage. There was another operator around Orpington in the late 90s/early 00s IIRC, Crystals or something like that. First were in Faraday Way. Crystals operated the 146,B14,R2 and R7.
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Apr 29, 2023 5:48:45 GMT
I’ve only ever known the 61 and 314 routes being operated by Stagecoach London ( Selkent). Atleast for over 20 years or so. The R routes seem to only be operated by GoAhead ( Metrobus) with the exception of the R 5, R 10 and R 7 that went to Stagecoach for a while. I’m not sure if Stagecoach still operate those routes or not now though. I don’t think those 3 routes are particularly busy or make much profit so was surprised Stagecoach wanted them when they did. The 61 was away from TB for about 20 years before returning in 2006. 10 Years with Metrobus and 10 Years with First Orpington. Talking of route 61, I think it's the only route in Orpington never worked by Go-Ahead.
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