Prepared on Notepad by Ian Smith. This page created 12th September 2000, updated 26th June 2005. Best on 800*600.
Prepared on Notepad by Ian Smith. This page created 12th September 2000, updated 26th June 2005. Best on 800*600.
Part Three: 9.8m, EDR, LDR, D, DPL, DP The shorter Darts had been seen as replacements for the midibuses (Mercedes, Renaults, StarRiders, MetroRiders...) that had plagued bus operations around London in the early nineties. But the 9.8m version offered scope for replacing the Leyland National, which was now getting long in the tooth. Most of the London companies started looking for larger buses with larger wheels for this, but others could see the 9.8m Dart Pointer in this role, and were not going to wait for the outcome of Low-Floor trials.
As Metroline continued to buy newer SLF Darts the EDRs were moved onto other jobs: in March 2000 they replaced Mercedes minibuses from the W9, while early 2002 saw a major move of most of them to Potters Bar, where they in turn displaced DRLs. Others displaced the ex-R&I Darts from North Wembley, with the lowest numbered (EDR1-7) going to North Wembley as trainers.
The Cowie Group bought fourteen long Darts, which it labelled LDR,
in November 1995, for Leaside Buses.
They appeared in the new Cowie group London livery,
of overall red with yellow stripe and pair of diagonal flashes.
Leaside Buses bought another seven in February 1996 for use on the 184. It wasn't that Leaside needed new buses on the 184, but long 9.8 m Darts were available off the shelf, and would fit on the 184, allowing its 9.0m DRLs to be shuffled to South London for the 455, in turn releasing 8.5m Darts for the 192 (which was what Leaside was trying to modernise, but 8.5m Darts were not available at the time).
Another six followed for the 313, won from Grey-Green, in late 1996.
Docklands Transit tendered succesfully in 1996 for the 106,
for which they bought eighteen 9.8m single-doorway Darts.
These wore a predominantly red livery, with blue stripe and white flashes.
Docklands Transit was bought by Stagecoach in July 1997, and Stagecoach East London took over the operation in October 1997.
Docklands Transit ordered eighteen dual-door Darts before the takeover,
and these, PD1-18, were duly delivered to Stagecoach East London in October 1997
and went to work on the 106.
Thames Transit, in Oxford, had also bought dual-door Darts for Oxford city services, and after their takeover by Stagecoach there was a shuffle.
Most of the Oxford dual-door Darts came to London.
Most of PD59-103 (with gaps) came during 1998 to Selkent at Plumstead,
and most of older PD701-722 to East London,
in exchange for Alexander-bodied single-door Darts.
The Plumstead batch subsequently moved north of the river to join the others
at Barking and Stratford.They were occupied on the 106, 287, 366, 368.
They were all transferred away gradually to other Stagecoach companies, starting in 1999, with large batches going at the end of 2001 and the last survivors hanging on into 2002.
May 1996 saw route 191 change operator, from Cowie Leaside to Thamesway,
who provided fifteen Pointers in yellow with pink sashes and badgers,
based at Ponders End, Enfield.
Responsiblity for the Thamesway operations at Ponders End passed to First Capital in September 1999, including fourteen of the Darts, which then acquired First Capital red and yellow livery.
R&I Coaches, among the mixed bag of Darts that they bought, of different makers and lengths,
acquired five 9.8m Pointers, one in June 1992 and another four in March 1995.
June 1996 saw them taken over by MTL London, which was in turn bought from MTL by Metroline.
They were used with the other Darts on routes 46, 112 and 274.
After the takeover by Metroline DP233 was transferred to Metroline stock for use as a trainer.
Eventually (August 2000) Metroline got round to renumbering them into the EDR sequence, and they became EDR45-9 (although not in the original order).
1996 also looked like a successful year for London Buslines.
Tenders won meant an intake of forty-eight Darts,
of which thirty-two had 9.8m Pointer bodies.
Centrewest bought the company from Q-Drive in March 1996,
whilst deliveries were still taking place.
The buses remained in London Buslines livery, but standardised on the 285 livery style,
with or without route branding.
The 285 was lost to London United at the end of June 2001.
With the 258 converted to double-decker this rendered most of the Darts redundant. Those at Uxbridge for the 203 remained , but the rest were transferred to First Edinburgh.
London Buslines was completely absorbed by First Centrewest from the beginning of September 2001.
Centrewest bought nine 9.8m Darts of its own,
D33-37 for the 331 in north-west London,
and D38-41 for Roundabout R9 in Orpington,
where Centrewest built a new operation at the expense of Selkent.
Bee Line took over the Slough operations of London Country North-West (Luton & District) in January 1993.
For the Slough-Heathrow Airportlink services (74, 75, 76) Bee Line bought eight 9.8m Darts,
four in March 1993 and another four in November.
They were painted in a dedicated livery. Centrewest took over in March 1996, and left the Darts alone.
to get on with it.
First Group did likewise until November 2004, when D201-204 (now 46079, 81-83)
were deported to First Somerset & Avon.
Armchair, based at Brentford in west London, was another small company
to offer Darts as part of their 1996 tender package,
successfully winning the 117 and 190.
The thirteen buses, not venturing near the Central London zone,
wore Armchair's distinctive orange with white roofs and black skirts.
County Bus bought ten 9.8m Pointers in March 1993 to supplement their 9.0m buses for Harlow services.
Eventually they became part of the fleet of Arriva The Shires and Essex, some being route-branded for the 251
(Hammond Street - Upshire).
Epsom Buses bought seven 9.8m Darts between 1993 and 1995, five of them with Plaxton Pointer bodywork.
Some were branded at times for particular services from Epsom - the 5, 498, 562,
and the others left plain cream with maroon bumpers.
They also worked alongside Arriva London South on the 166.
January 2002 saw the fleet numbered, with these Darts becoming LD12-LD16.
In November 2002 Epsom Buses bought seven new Optare Solos, and these displaced Dart SLFs which in turn made the older Darts redundant. Most were put up for sale, although LD16 became a trainer.
Thames Bus of New Haw was one of a number of bus companies trying to operate in the difficult conditions of suburban Surrey,
after Arriva had given it up and several other operators had tried and failed.
They bought one of Epsom Buses' 9.8m Darts in March 2003, and painted it in this smart blue livery.
EDR histories.
EDR photos.
Northern Counties DNL
Bus Stop
Dart index.
DR.
DRL.
EDR.
DNL.