Prepared on Notepad by Ian Smith,
This page created 6th November 2017.

Part2: 2001

PVL179-208 for 343 (New Cross) and 118 (Merton)

letter-box PVL A new batch of PVLs arrived in January/February 2001, PVL179-194 at New Cross for route 343, a twisty urban route renumbered from P3, and PVL195-208 to Merton for the suburban 118. The New Cross buses started a move towards TfL's new policy regarding front destination displays: these now required just a prominent route number and a single line ultimate destination - no via points. All other information was to be on all bus stops. It seems that people had been confused by buses showing via points that the bus had already passed! People were now supposed to read the spider maps and timetables on the stops. It gave the buses a secondhand look, with just a narrow single line in the large front panel. Not beautiful. As a fashion it was short-lived, although the affected buses kept the reduced displays.


PVL187 on 321 PVL194 on 21

Illustrating the "letter-box" style of front display, PVL187 heads through Sidcup for Lewisham in May 2005, while PVL194 passes New Cross Garage on the 21 in January 2005.
PVL69 on 280 PVL98 on 118
Still with a proper display, PVL228 leaves New Cross Garage for London Bridge via the twisty 343, in January 2005. Merton's PVL98 pulls away from Morden Station on the 118 in August 2008.

GarageRoute noRoute
NX (New Cross)343 New Cross Garage - Brockley - Peckham Rye - Peckham High Street - Elephant & Castle Stn - Borough - London Bridge Station
AL (Merton)118Morden Station - Mitcham - Streatham - Brixton Station

PVL209-249 for New Cross

Next in line for PVLs should have been New Cross' 172, which used Titans. But Arriva's decision to give up operations in Crawley meant that London Central needed to send dual-doorway NV Olympians to Metrobus in Green Street Green, which in turn could displace single-doorway NVs to Metrobus in Crawley. So the 171 lost some of its NVs in favour of PVLs, and the 172 kept its Titans for just a little longer. Soon there were enough PVLs at New Cross to displace them too. Once they had arrived they were also able to take over the Sunday allocation on route 36. Route 21 also regularly saw a few PVLs now. Odd forays onto other routes followed, such as the 321, where they could meet a sprinkling of Bexleyheath PVLs. This delivery of PVLs reverted to proper blind displays.

PVL201 on 171, Holborn PVL209 on 171, New Cross Gate

PVLs on the 171: PVL 201 at High Holborn in October 2007, PVL209 passing New Cross Garage in January 2005.

GarageRoute noRoute
NX (New Cross)171 Catford Garage - Catford - Forest Hill - Brockley - New Cross - Camberwell Green - Elephant & Castle - Waterloo Stn - Aldwych - Holborn Stn
NX (New Cross)172Brockley Rise - New Cross - Bricklayers Arms - Elephant & Castle - Waterloo Stn - Aldwych - St.Paul's Station
NX (New Cross)36 (Suns)Queens Park Stn - Paddington - Marble Arch - Victoria - Oval - Camberwell - Peckham - New Cross - Lewisham
NX (New Cross)21Moorgate - Bank - Monument - London Bridge Stn- Bricklayers Arms - Old Kent Road - New Cross - Lewisham

PVL238 on 172, Brockley Rise

PVL238 on the 172 at Brockley Rise. Behind is RT1702. The occasion was the last day of crew working on the 36 from New Cross, January 2005.
PVL213 at the Lewisham Bus , November 2009.
PVL213 At the Lewisham Bus Station terminus of route 21, about to set off to Newington Green, November 2009.
From September Stockwell re-equippped the 77A, and regularly outstationed three PVLs at Waterloo, for use on it. Four PVLs that had been at Putney for the 37 returned to Stockwell.

GarageRoute noRoute
RA and SW77A Aldwych - Trafalgar Square - Westminster - Vauxhall - Clapham Junction - Wandsworth

Part 3: 2002

Ian's Bus Stop. 2000. 2002. PVL histories. PDL histories. PVL photos.