Capital Citybus
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Capital Citybus was a major bus operator for London Buses in North and East London. The company was eventually sold to First in 1998. Capital Citybus is not to be confused with the other former London bus and coach operator Capital Logistics, for whom in 1999 it provided amongst others relief buses for the troubled route 60 start up.
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[edit] Company history
The company was established with the purchase of the London tendered bus services of Ensignbus by the Hong Kong bus operator Citybus.
Citybus purchased the London tendered routes, one garage and some vehicles. The company was rebranded Capital Citybus and gained a large number of routes after the collapse of London Buses subsidiary London Forest in 1991 and further tendering.
In 1998 Capital Citybus became the second London bus operator to be sold to First Group, after Centrewest. After a period of initially separate operation, the company has been fully amalgamated into the other First London operations, and the Capital name has been dropped from buses. The yellow f adorning the front of some buses is a reminder of the Capital Citybus livery.
[edit] London routes
Capital Citybus saw service on the following London bus routes
- 1 [1]
- 19 [2]
- 20 [3]
- 22B [4]
- 62 [5]
- 67 [6]
- 86B [7]
- 91 [8]
- 97 [9]
- 97A [10]
- 123 [11]
- 158 [12]
- 165 [13]
- 179 [14]
- 212 [15]
- 215 [16]
- 236 [17]
- 246 [18]
- 248 [19]
- 252 [20]
- 257 [21]
- 296 [22]
- 345 [23]
- 348 [24]
- 365 [25]
- 369 [26]
- 396 [27]
- 446 [28]
- 510 [29]
- 511 [30]
- 648 [31]
- 650 [32]
- 947 [33]
- D4 [34]
- D5 [35]
- D6 [36]
- S2 [37]
- W10 [38]
- W19 [39]
- N50 [40]
- N100 [41]
[edit] Liveries
As Capital Citybus originated from Ensign, the fleet experienced several livery iterations from their inherited blue and silver scheme, starting out as merely Ensign blue/silver vehicles with Ensign Citybus fleetnames painted over where the Ensignbus name was, into variations of yellow and silver. [42][43][44].
The company settled on an allover yellow livery with stylised C logos either side of the destination blind on the front of the bus. Initially buses had red fleetnames incorporating Chinese characters and the stylised C with the Capital Citybus name [45]. The fleetname was subsequently modified to just Capital Citybus [46].
Capital Citybus was a frequent contractor for British Rail and London Underground replacement service work, and during its existence operated specially liveried vehicles for Docklands Light Railway [47] and the East London Line [48][49] replacement services.
As the regulations changed regarding London tendered service liveries, a revised mainly red livery was introduced [50].
As the company passed into First ownership, for a time there existed a subtly different First Capital red and yellow livery with the First Group flying f replacing the Citybus C on the front of buses, and First Capital replacing the Capital Citybus fleetname [51]. Now only the frontal f remains in an allover red First livery.
[edit] Fleet
Capital Citybus bought large numbers of new vehicles throughout the 1990s. These included the majority of the relatively rare Dennis Arrow double-decker.
- [52] 6 1991-built Northern Counties-bodied Leyland Olympian double-deckers[1]
- [53] 23 1991-built Leyland-bodied Leyland Olympian double-deckers[2]
- [54] 20 1992-built Plaxton-bodied Mercedes-Benz 811D minibuses[3]
- [55] 10 1992-built Optare MetroRider integral minibuses[4]
- [56] 3 1992-built Alexander-bodied Mercedes-Benz 811D minibuses[5]
- [57] 7 1992-built Northern Counties-bodied Leyland Olympian double-deckers[6]
- [58] 1 1993-built Northern Counties Palatine-bodied Leyland Olympian double-decker[7]
- [59] 2 1993-built pre-production Northern Counties-bodied Volvo Olympian YN2RV18Z4 double-deckers[8]
- [60] 3 1994-built Northern Counties-bodied Volvo B6 midibuses[9]
- [61] 1 1994-built Northern Counties-bodied Dennis Dart midibus[10]
- [62] 10 1994-built Alexander-bodied Volvo B6 midibuses[11]
- 1 1995-built Northern Counties-bodied DAF DB250 double-decker[12]
- [63] 11 1996-built Northern Counties-bodied Volvo Olympian YN2RV18Z4 double-deckers[13]
- [64] 4 1996-built Optare Excel integral single-deckers[14]
- [65] 16 1996/7-built Northern Counties-bodied Dennis Arrow double-deckers[15]
- [66] 16 1997-built Alexander-bodied Volvo Olympian double-deckers[16]
- [67] 38 1997/8-built East Lancs-bodied Dennis Arrow double-deckers[17]
- [68] 13 1998-built East Lancs-bodied Dennis Dart SLF midibuses[18]
- 17 1998-built Northern Counties-bodied Volvo Olympian double-deckers[19]
- 22 1999-built Plaxton President-bodied Dennis Trident 2 double-deckers[20]
In addition to its new buses, Capital Citybus employed many second-hand vehicles, many from Ensign.
- Bristol VR [69]
- MCW Metrobus [70]
- Leyland National II [71]
- Dennis Dominator (East Lancs) [72]
- Dennis Dominator (Northern Counties) [73]
- Leyland Olympian (Alexander RL) [74]
- Leyland Olympian (Optare) [75]
- Leyland Titan (B15) (Park Royal) [76]
- Bedford [77]
- Scania K93 (Plaxton) [78]
An early articulated bus, the Leyland-DAB appeared in Capital Citybus livery, with blinds for the London Red Arrow service [79].
[edit] Notes
- ^ J---YRM 129-135
- ^ J---YRM 136-158
- ^ J---HMF 601-620
- ^ J---HMH 631-633
- ^ J---HMH 631-633
- ^ K888--- 159-165
- ^ K888TKS 166
- ^ L888YTT/L888TTT 167/8
- ^ L281RML / L888JTC / L888AMY 681/2/3
- ^ L670MSC 670
- ^ L---RMD 671-680
- ^ M647RCP 300
- ^ N---CMP / P---HMD 239-249
- ^ P---HMT 701-704
- ^ P---HMH / P---MTW 401-416
- ^ P---MPU 223-238
- ^ P---PVW / R426SOY / R---ULE / R844YLC / S---SSL 417-454
- ^ R---VLA 705-717
- ^ S---LLO 206-222
- ^ T---LLC TN801-822
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Ensignbus official site
- Ensignbus Transport Museum - history of Ensignbus
- Ensign/Capital Citybus Fotopic collection
- Capital Citybus Fotopic collection
- Capital Citybus Fotopic collection
- Capital Citybus Fotopic collection
- Capital Citybus Fotopic collection
- Bus lists on the web a searchable bus purchase database
