Transport for London (TfL) has today announced that the next bus route to be served entirely by New Routemaster buses will be the 137.

From Saturday 6 December there will be phased conversion of the route, which is operated by Arriva, and runs between Oxford Circus and Streatham Hill, via Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge, Sloane Square, Chelsea Bridge, Battersea Park and Clapham Common. The route will be running entirely with New Routemaster buses by the end of December.

During peaks hours, 31 of these state of the art buses will be in passenger service to carry the 22,000 people who travel on the route each week day.

Route 137 will operate with the rear platform closed when the bus is moving, with large numbers of passengers able to quickly board and alight using all three sets of doors and two staircases at bus stops. Every London bus route is different and as these buses are rolled out across the capital TfL will consider the best possible operating arrangements on a route by route basis. As the Mayor has previously made clear, there will not be a requirement to have a conductor on every bus at all times[1]. New Routemasters already operate without a conductor on routes 8,148 and 453.

To date, nine bus routes in London are being served by more than 300 New Routemasters. The conversion of route 137 will be another step towards the delivery of 800[2] New Routemasters on London's streets by 2016, reducing CO2 emissions in the capital by around 27,500 tonnes a year.

The introduction of New Routemaster buses is part of a comprehensive programme to reduce emissions from London's bus fleet which includes 1,700 hybrids on the street by 2016, accelerating the introduction of ultra low emission Euro VI buses and retrofitting 1,800 older buses to reduce their NOx emissions by up to 88 per cent.

 

  1. Mayor's Question Time, 17 October 2012 - http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=42938
  2. The TfL Board approved the purchase of a further 200 New Routemaster buses on 5 November 2014. These buses improve the journey experience of passengers, enhance air quality, reduce vehicle noise and cut emissions with associated health benefits. The buses will be built by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland with many of the component parts also manufactured in the UK, creating jobs and stimulating the economy.

Notes to Editors:

  • Arriva is part of Deutsche Bahn, one of the world's leading passenger transport and logistics service providers, and operates in 14 European countries. Headquartered in Sunderland, Arriva is responsible for Deutsche Bahn's regional passenger transport services outside of Germany.
  • New Routemaster buses are manufactured by the family-owned Wrightbus company in Northern Ireland. The original 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 Routemaster project