The 302 is now once again a single deck route. On formation in 1991 the route was Metrobus worked. The early 1990s saw a rash of full size single deck buses entering service in London, and the 302 was one victim. However, the Northern Counties bodied Dennis Lances used thereon from 1993 were very unpopular and were withdrawn after only three years, Metrobuses replacing them on the 302 and 113.

However, the relatively low frequency of the route was addressed when the route was re-tendered in 1998, with one extra bus per hour inserted into the schedule, but at the price of single decking again. One of the disadvantages of the earlier single deckers had been their length, making them unwieldy to operate on often bendy routes. This time the type chosen was the much more versatile Dart SLF, with dual door Pointer 2 bodied versions being specified. The batch is DLD 64-74 (11 buses for a requirement of 10), and here DLD 73 (R173 VLA) loads up in Church Lane, Kingsbury, on 27 June 2001.

Photo by Robert Munster.

In fairness, the 302 is not the busiest of routes, except at school times when some additional double deck workings are provided by London Traveller — using Metrobuses. It took over the northern end of route 52 in 1991, the 52 being cut back to Willesden bus garage giving a short overlap between Notting Hill Gate and Willesden — which has been reduced even further by the curtailment of the 302 to Kensal Rise.

However, the service levels on the two halves do rather contrast — the 52 runs up to every 5 minutes using long wheelbase double deckers, the 302 every 12 minutes using moderate length single deckers.

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See also routes 113, 52