Route 390 to be served by New Routemasters from Saturday

05 December 2013
Fourth route in the Capital to operate entirely with world's greenest diesel electric hybrid buses.
  • Fifth bus route - 148 - to convert from February 2014

From Saturday 7 December route 390 will become the fourth in the capital to be served entirely by New Routemasters. 

Route 390, which runs 24-hours a day (with N390 services) and is operated by Metroline, runs between Notting Hill Gate and Archway, via Queensway, Lancaster Gate, Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road, Euston, King's Cross and Tufnell Park. 

During peak hours, 21 of the new buses will be in passenger service to carry the 18,400 people who travel on the route each day.

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 staffing arrangements on a route by route basis. 

Buses on route 390 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). 

At weekends this route, in common with routes 9 and 24, will operate with just a driver. 

This will mean 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.    

The next route to be converted, the 148 - a 24-hour route - is operated by London United and runs between Camberwell Green and White City, via Elephant and Castle, Parliament Square, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Notting Hill Gate, Holland Park and Shepherd's Bush. 

During peak hours, 25 of these state of the art buses will be in passenger service to carry the 22,500 people who travel on the route each day. 

The New Routemaster is the greenest diesel electric hybrid bus in the world. 

In tests a prototype bus was found to emit a quarter of the NOx (Oxides of Nitrogen) and harmful 'PM' particles of a fleet average hybrid bus and 20 per cent less CO2. 

So when all 600 are in service in 2016 they will reduce CO2 emissions in the Capital by around 20,600 tonnes a year.

Notes to editors:

  • The introduction of the New Routemaster is part of a comprehensive programme to reduce emissions from London's bus fleet with 1,700 hybrids on the street by 2016, accelerating the introduction of ultra low emission Euro 6 buses and retrofitting 900 older buses to reduce their NOx emissions by up to 80 per cent
  • Metroline is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore based ComfortDelGro; one of the world's largest passenger land transport companies. Metroline's principal business is the provision of bus services under contract to London Buses, operating through an area that extends from North to West London, including Central London and the City
  • London United is a wholly owned subsidiary of RATP Dev SA, which operates public transportation in over 12 countries. The London United network of routes covers central, west and south west London
  • These buses are manufactured by the family-owned Wrightbus company in Northern Ireland. The order for 600 vehicles resulted in the opening of a new chassis plant in Antrim and the safeguarding of 220 jobs, including 18 apprenticeships and the creation of 50 new jobs
  • As well as the manufacture of the chassis and superstructure in Northern Ireland, a number of components for the bus are made by companies from around the UK; including engines from Darlington, seats from Telford, seat moquette from Huddersfield, wheelchair ramps from Hoddesdon (Hertfordshire), destination blinds from Middleton near Manchester and flooring from Liskeard (Cornwall). All of these companies have received a boost as a result of the new bus project