Route becomes the thirteenth to convert

Transport for London (TfL) has today announced that the next bus route to be served entirely by New Routemaster buses will be route 12.

A phased conversion of the route, operated by Go-Ahead, runs between Dulwich (Library) and Oxford Circus, via Peckham Rye, Elephant & Castle, Trafalgar Square (Charing Cross), Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus is underway. The route, which runs 24-hours a day, will be running entirely with New Routemaster buses by the end of April.

During peaks hours, 36 of these state of the art buses will be in passenger service to carry the 33,000 people who travel on the route each week day.

Route 12 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.

To date, twelve bus routes in London are operating with New Routemasters, once route 12 has fully converted there will be around 450 of these bespoke buses in passenger service. The conversion of route 12 will be another step towards the delivery of 800 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.

 

Notes to Editors:

  • Go-Ahead London comprises London Central, London General, Blue Triangle, Docklands Buses and Metrobus. It runs a fleet of over 2200 buses, representing over 24 per cent of the London bus market, and accounts for approximately 433 million bus journeys annually on over 190 day and night routes.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.