The origins of Abellio can be traced back to June 1998 when National Express commenced operating routes C1 and 211 under the Travel London brand. In August 2000, National Express sold the business to Limebourne, who in July 2001 sold out to Connex. In February 2004, National Express repurchased the business.[1] Travel London operated contracts on behalf of Transport for London (TfL).
On 21 May 2009, National Express sold Travel London to Abellio. The sale included 36 TfL-tendered services. All vehicles, depots and staff were included.[2][3]
On 30 October 2009 the business was rebranded as Abellio London.[4][5]
Abellio London was included in the sale of Abellio's United Kingdom business to Transport UK Group in February 2023.[6][7] It is to be rebranded Transport UK London Bus from TBC.[8]
Garages and routes
Abellio London operates six garages. Beddington, Battersea and Walworth are operated by Abellio London Limited and Twickenham, Armstrong Way and Dawley Road by Abellio West London Limited.
This garage was established by Q-Drive in the late 1990s, hence the QB code.[10] Travel London's original bus garage was situated further north towards Stewarts Lane railway depot which was the home of the Gatwick Express, a rail franchise then operated by its parent National Express. Connex moved into these premises after purchasing the Limebourne business in July 2001.[citation needed] In December 2015, Battersea garage started operating route 159.[11]
After being closed by London Regional Transport in the 1980s, Walworth garage was reopened by Travel London in 2005, who needed more garage space after some new contracts.[12][13][14]
Former garages
Southall (AB)
Southall garage opened on 29 July 2017, when routes E1, E5, E7 and E9 were transferred from Hayes.[15][16] It was replaced by Armstrong Way (GW) garage in July 2019.[17]
Hayes (WS)
This garage closed in late 2021, transferring its routes to Armstrong Way (GW) garage. Hayes garage used to operate and hold London bus routes 278, 350, 482, H28, U5, U7 and U9.[9] It moved to a new site on Dawley Road in 2021.[18]
Fleet
As at March 2023, Abellio London operated 800 buses. These include the Alexander Dennis Enviro200 and 400 (with the MMC variant) and the Caetano e.City Golds. There are 44 of these in use.[19]
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