Route 8 and 38 now served by New Routemaster buses

02 July 2014

They become the seventh and eighth bus routes in the capital to operate with the world's greenest diesel electric hybrid buses  

From today (Wednesday 2 July) routes 8 and 38 have become the latest in the capital to be served entirely by New Routemasters.

They are the cleanest and greenest diesel electric hybrid double deck buses in the world and are part of a comprehensive programme to reduce emissions from London's bus fleet.  

To date, six bus routes in London have been served by around 170 New Routemasters. By 2016 there will be 600 of these new buses on London's streets reducing CO2 emissions in the capital by around 20,600 tonnes a year.  

Route 38, which is operated by Arriva, has had New Routemasters introduced on a phased basis with full conversion now complete. It runs between Victoria Station and Hackney, via Hyde Park Corner, Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, Bloomsbury, Islington, Dalston, Hackney Central Station and Clapton Pond.

It was the route on which the very first prototype New Routemaster entered service in February 2012. At night, route N38 has an extended service running additionally via Lea Bridge, Leyton (Bakers Arms) and Walthamstow Central which will also be served by New Routemaster buses.  

Buses on route 38 operate with the rear door open and a conductor on the rear platform for the majority of the day on weekdays (6am-7pm Monday to Friday) on the busiest section of the route between Essex Road (Islington) and Victoria. On the remainder of the route, in the evenings, at weekends and on the route N38 at night the rear platform is closed when the bus is moving but all three sets of doors are opened and closed by the driver at bus stops. During peaks hours, 59 of these state of the art buses are in passenger service to carry the 42,000 people who travel on the route each week day.  

In addition, the routes 8 and N8 are now also served entirely by New Routemasters. Operated by Stagecoach, it runs for 24-hours a day and has seen New Routemasters introduced on a phased basis with full conversion now complete. The route normally runs between Oxford Circus and Bow Church via Tottenham Court Road, Holborn, St Paul's, Bank, Liverpool Street, Shoreditch and Bethnal Green, although until autumn 2014 it terminates at Tottenham Court Road due to roadworks.

At night, route N8 has an extended service running additionally via Stratford, Leytonstone, and Gants to Hainault which is now also served by New Routemaster buses. Buses on route 8 and N8 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.  

During peak hours, 30 of the new buses are in passenger service to carry the 22,000 passengers who travel on the route each weekday.   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 older buses to reduce their NOx emissions by up to 88 per cent.   Four New Routemasters with a Euro VI engine are currently being tested in passenger service with full production of the New Routemaster with the Euro VI engine starting later this year.  

  • In tests, a New Routemaster 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.Arriva is one of the largest providers of passenger transport in Europe, employing some 54,500 people and delivering more than 2.2 billion passenger journeys every year.
  • 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.Stagecoach is one of UK's biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,000 buses and coaches.
  • Around 2.5 million passengers travel on Stagecoach's buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The Group's business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates between around 60 towns and cities across the UK.
  • The New Routemaster 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.