108 The London Bus
it in the next tender round,
taking over in June 2015. It was
operated initially with Tridents,
but new Alexander Dennis
Enviro400 MMCs were allocated
to Romford, the first pure diesel-
powered examples of this type
— as opposed to hybrids — to be
used in London.
Weekdays-only route 499
was introduced in July 1994,
providing a link between
Romford town centre and
Whalebone Lane, largely in a
one-way anticlockwise loop. The
contract to provide the service
was awarded to Stagecoach,
which initially used a single bus,
based at North Street.
In June 2002 operation
transferred to First London, the
service was extended to Gallows
Corner and run seven days a
week. Retendering in 2009 saw
Arriva take over until a further
change of operator in June
2015 brought the route back to
Romford with a requirement for
new buses, the first Alexander
Dennis Enviro200 MMC single-
deckers in London.
In September 2018 it will start
operating route 193 (Romford-
County Park Estate), which has
been won on retendering from
Go-Ahead’s Blue Triangle.
The 193 was among the first
London bus routes offered out
to tender in July 1985. Eastern
National won it then, initially
using ECW-bodied Bristol
VRT double-deckers although
Mercedes-Benz minibusesreplaced these the following
year. Services have since been
provided by Thamesway, First
Essex, First London and now
Blue Triangle, but these changes
in operator have been a result of
restructuring or takeover of the
incumbent operator rather than
the tendering process.
Sixty-five years after it first
opened, Romford garage isonce again in an area where
there is significant new housing
development and its buses
operate in the sort of suburban
area in which Transport fro
London hopes to increase bus
service provision. In addition,
changes associated with the
opening of the Elizabeth Line are
likely to result in new bus links
feeding traffic into railheads. ● MLLondon Bus Garages
TOP RIGHT:
Alexander Dennis
Enviro400 MMC
10307 in South
Street, Romford on
route 498. Unlike
most such vehicles
in London, these
have conventional
diesel rather than
hybrid electric
drive.
RIGHT: Alexander
Dennis Enviro200
MMC 36603, one of
the first in London,
in Pettits Lane,
Romford on route
499.
BOTTOM: In
2013, Romford
provided a single
bus on route 256,
which otherwise
was operated by
Arriva. Alexander
Dennis ALX400-
bodied Trident
displayed its
destination and
route number on
a board behind
the windscreen.
STEVE MASKELL