Bus route 149 has become the latest on the Transport for London (TfL) network to be converted to operate with New Routemaster buses.

A phased conversion is now underway on the route, which serves London Bridge Station, Liverpool Street, Shoreditch, Dalston Junction, Dalston Kingsland, Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill, South Tottenham, Seven Sisters and Tottenham, Bruce Grove and Edmonton Green.

Mike Weston, TfL's Director of Buses, said: `This will help to greatly reduce CO2 emissions and improve local air quality while the two staircases and three sets of doors offer passengers a much more convenient journey.'

The 24-hour service, operated by Arriva, will be running entirely with New Routemaster buses by mid-November.

During peak hours, 38 of these state-of-the-art buses will be in passenger service to carry the 43,000 people who travel on the route each week day.

Route 149 buses will operate with the rear platform closed when the bus is moving, while at bus stops large numbers of passengers will be able to quickly board and alight using all three sets of doors and two staircases.

To date, 16 bus routes in London are operating with New Routemasters. The conversion of route 149 will see the 600th New Routemaster bus enter passenger service, with 200 more scheduled for delivery by mid-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%

  • 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
  • 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