Route 88

Route 88
6 July 2010

This page has been overdue an update for some time, the previous version (dating from 2000) having featured a PDL class Dennis Trident, a type phased out by London General some time ago. The current official allocation is the PVL class Volvo B7TL, and so we kick off with a picture of PVL190 (X509 EGK) in Marsham Street on 27 August 2009, headed for the route's southern terminus at Clapham Common.

Photo © Danny Robinson.

This photograph is shared under a Creative commons license.

The 88 was actually the first route to receive the PDL class, although more of the type followed later, but they proved unpopular with drivers and have been replaced by spare PVLs as opportunity arose. Previously London General had been faithful to the Volvo B7TL, despite the considerable delay in getting that type into production. But before any of the Volvos, classified PVL, had arrived, an order was announced for 13 Dennis Tridents, the main competitor to the Volvo, to furnish the new contract for route 88, which had a peak vehicle requirement of 11.

As it transpired, the 88 had to start off with a mixture of PDLs and PVLs anyway, as the PVR had increased to 15 before operation commenced. The reason for the increase was neither of the common ones of a frequency enhancement or extra resources to improve reliability. Instead, bucking a trend that has been running for many years, the 88 received an extension across town. Previously the route had run from Clapham Common via Stockwell, Vauxhall, Marsham Street and Westminster to Oxford Circus, but severe restrictions on stand space in the latter area needed a solution, and the first step in that direction was the extension of the 88 to Camden Town. This in turn allowed the severely under used 135 service to be withdrawn, with the most useful links being maintained either by the 88 or the 134.

The 88 has had several types of Volvo buses over the years. The first arrived in the 1993 single deck craze in the form of Volvo B10Bs, bodied by Northern Counties, classified VN and kitted out with K-KLL registration marks rather vainly reflecting then managing director Keith Ludeman. However, inconsiderate parking around – of all places – the Department of Transport offices in Marsham Street, never mind the inadequate capacity of single deckers on such a route, saw their demise in 1997, when they departed for the fellow Go-Ahead company in Oxford. The registrations were also changed to K118-130 BUD, should anyone wish to trace them.

Meanwhile the 88 regained double deckers, in the form of Metrobuses. A feature noticed latterly on these was that many buses were displaying the Oxford Circus destination written in black marker pen on what was a yellow blank. The reason is that London General list destinations alphabetically on the blind, so Oxford Circus and Clapham Common are well removed, which would tend to result in a degree of armache for the drivers winding from one to the other. However, there happened to be a yellow blank just below Clapham Common on the blind, and someone evidently took it on to convert this to an Oxford Circus destination! But, somehow, I don't think the reason for the Camden Town extension was lexicographic, even if it does eliminate this little difficulty quite effectively.

Volvo Citybuses meant for routes 133 and 196 also made occasional appearances. Later, the 196 was transferred to sister company London Central, due to driver shortages at Stockwell. Camberwell used Titans on the 196, and the plan was to use the VCs on the 88 instead. However this did not happen, and eventually the 196 came back to London General and regained the VCs. Thus the Metrobuses remained on the 88 until the Volvo B7TLs started to arrive. Although these were meant for the 37 and 77A, they did tend to be put on the 88 in preference, until the Tridents came.

Both PVL and PDL feature Plaxton President bodywork, so would not be readily distinguishable to the uninitiated. Perhaps the most obvious visual difference at that time was the position of the staircase, with PVLs having the central stairs initially favoured by London Transport, and the PDLs being amongst the first low floor buses with forward stairs. The PVL above is a later example with forward stairs like the PVLs, but a few of the earlier ones are still around, and are represented by PVL73 (W473 WGH) at Warren Street Station, Hampstead Road – on the Camden Town extension – during 2009, although this particular bus has since left Stockwell garage.

Photo © Ian Armstrong.

Another type which is quite numerous at Stockwell is a later model of the B7TL, but this time with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork. One of the earliest examples is WVL6 (LG02 KGZ), seen in Bridge Foot, Vauxhall, with Vauxhall Bridge in the background, on 7 December 2004 when still quite new.

The latest type is the successor to the PDL, being the Alexander Dennis Enviro400. The chassis is still a Trident, though substantially updated, but the bodywork is completely different. As with WVLs, such buses are not officially allocated to the 88 but do put in appearances. E108 (LX09 FAO) is on John Islip Street, near Vauxhall Bridge Road, on Thursday 8 October 2009. As can be determined from the number, these seem to have been more successful than the PDLs – although they were only ordered as a stop-gap while Volvo had no double deck product suitable for London requirements on the market, and London General has now gone back to Volvo for its latest orders.

This photograph is shared under a Creative commons license.

Traditionally the 88 was a much longer route. I do not propose to cover the history in detail, but the 1939 Greater London Bus Map (see www.busmap.org) shows the route running from Belmont to Acton Green via present day routes 280, 355, 88 and 94. I am advised that, unlike some other very long routes such as the 12, it did actually have a proper end-to-end service, at least on Sundays, though on weekdays buses from Acton Green more usually terminated at Clapham Common, Mitcham or St. Helier. The route continued to run between Mitcham and Acton Green until the 1980s, then having a short curtailment back to Tooting, before being cut down to run only between Clapham Common and Marble Arch from 1990, new routes 355 and 94 covering the remainder with short overlaps.

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Chronologically 8 646

Numerically 87 89
See also routes 134, 133, 196, 37, 87, 188, 280, 80, 355, 94

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