LONDON BUS NEWS | First Bus Has Bought RATP Dev! (London United, London Sovereign & London Transit)

It was recently announced that First Bus is set to return to the London bus market. They have reached a deal to purchase RATP Dev Transit London and its subsidiaries for £90 million. First Bus will take over RATP Dev Transit's bus routes in early 2025. Several routes that were run by First will be returning to them, such as the 18. First previously ran buses in London from 1995 until 2013.

RATP Dev Transit and its subsidiaries run 90 TfL bus routes. Many of these are run with electric or hybrid buses. The company operates in North West, West and South West London. RATP runs two Superloop express bus routes; the SL9 and SL10. The three subsidiaries include London United, London Sovereign and London Transit.

London United currently runs routes 18, 33, 49, 65, 70, 71, 72, 85, 94, 105, 110, 116, 117, 148, 203, 216, 218, 220, 224, 235, 258, 272, 281, 283, 290, 293, 295, 371, 406, 411, 418, 419, 423, 440, 467, 613, 662, 665, 681, 696, 698, C1, E3, H22, H37, H98, K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, N33, N65 and N72.

London United currently runs buses from 7 garages. These include...
Fulwell (FW) garage runs the 33, 65, 71, 216, 281, 290, 371, 681, K3, N33 and N65.
Hounslow (AV) garage runs the 110, 117, 203, 419, 696, 698, H22, H37 and H98.
Hounslow Heath (WK) garage runs the 105, 116, 235 and 423.
Park Royal (RP) garage runs the 18, 220, 224, 258* and N18.
Shepherd's Bush (S) garage runs the 49, 70, 72, 94, 148, C1 and N72.
Stamford Brook (V) garage runs the 218, 272, 283, 440 and E3.
Tolworth (TV) garage runs the 85, 293, 406, 411, 418, 467, 613, 662, 665, K1, K2, K4 and K5.
School routes 613, 662, 665, 681, 696 and 698 are from from Tolworth, Fulwell and Hounslow.

London Sovereign runs the 79, 125, 183, 226, 288, 303, 326, 340, 395, 398, H9, H10, H11, H12, H14, H18, H19, N5, SL9 and SL10.
London Sovereign runs buses from 3 garages.
Edgware (BT) garage runs the 79, 125, 226, 326, 340, H12 and N5.
Harrow (SO) garage runs the 183, 395, 398, H9, H10, H18, H19, SL9 and SL10.
Parr Road (CP) garage runs the 288, 303, H11 and H14.

London Transit runs buses from Westbourne Park (X) garage. This garage runs the 13, 23, 295, 414 & 452. Westbourne Park (X) was formerly part of First London until it was sold to Tower Transit in 2013. Tower Transit was acquired by RATP to become London Transit in 2021.

Some RATP buses are ex First, including the YX11 plate Enviro200s used on route 218, The SN12 plate Enviro400 hybrids used on route 414, And the Gemini 2s used on route 452. An Enviro400 at Park Royal is also ex First.

Ex First buses can also be found in other companies. GoAhead has ex First Enviro200s, Enviro400s and Gemini 2s. Metroline has ex First Enviro200s and Enviro400s. Stagecoach has ex First Enviro200s, Enviro400s and Gemini 2s. Uno also have an ex First Enviro400 hybrid.

This deal includes around 12% of the TfL bus market, with an opportunity to grow to 15%. It also includes 982 buses and around 3,700 staff. Only 40% of RATP Dev Transit London's bus routes are currently profitable. First were interested at buying RATP from an early stage. New electric buses will initially be procured under finance or leasing deals. Ensign Bus, which was recently acquired by First, will be used to dispose withdrawn TfL buses.

Scheduled to premiere at 14:30 at 10:10 PM Sat 14/12/24

0:00 Intro/Explanation
1:25 London United
2:06 London Sovereign
2:27 London Transit
2:38 What could happen?
2:58 Facts
3:39 London United garages
4:58 London Sovereign garages
5:31 London Transit garages
6:11 Ex First buses (RATP)
6:41 Ex First buses (GAL)
6:53 Ex First buses (ML)
7:01 Ex First buses (SLN)
7:12 Interiors

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