Tower Transit was a bus company operating in

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

. They were a subsidiary of the

Kelsian Group Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group, is an Australian public company that operates transport services in Australia, United Kingdom and Singapore. History In 1989, the business was founded with the purchase of the Kangaroo Island SeaLink ...

and operated services under contract to Transport for London. In December 2021, Tower Transit's West London operations were transferred to

RATP Dev Transit London RATP Dev Transit London is a joint venture between RATP Dev and Kelsian Group in London. It owns the London bus companies of London Sovereign, London United and London Transit. It commenced on 11 December 2021. History In September 2021, RATP D ...

. In June 2022, their remaining operations were sold to

Stagecoach London Stagecoach London is a major bus operator in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach and operates services under contract to Transport for London mostly in East and South East London as well as some services into Central London. It i ...

History

A Tower Transit bus is on route 488 to Dalston Junction

In June 2013,

Transit Systems Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group. History ...

purchased

First London First London was a bus company operating services in east and west Greater London, England. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and operated buses under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in the late 1990s through the acquisition o ...

's Atlas Road (

Park Royal Park Royal is an area in North West London, England, partly in the London Borough of Brent and partly the London Borough of Ealing. It is the site of the largest business park in London, but despite intensive existing use, the area is, toget ...

), Lea Interchange (

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

) and Westbourne Park garages with 24

London bus routes This is a list of Transport for London (TfL) contracted bus routes in London, England, as well as commercial services that enter the Greater London area (except coaches). Bus services in London are operated by Abellio London, Arriva London, G ...

and 412 buses. Also included were contracts to operate three routes (

425 __NOTOC__ Year 425 ( CDXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Valentinianus (or, less frequently, year ...

, N550 and N551) that had yet to commence. In October 2014, Tower Transit purchased Impact Group which operated 130 small buses for local authorities and schools out of depots in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

and

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

. This was sold in August 2018 to the

HCT Group HCT Group was a social enterprise providing transport services and community services in several areas of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1982 as Hackney Community Transport in the London Borough of Hackney, to provide transport services ...

. Tower Transit was included in the purchase of Transit Systems by

SeaLink Travel Group Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group, is an Australian public company that operates transport services in Australia, United Kingdom and Singapore. History In 1989, the business was founded with the purchase of the Kangaroo Island SeaLink ...

in January 2020. In September 2021, SeaLink Travel Group and the

RATP Group RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator responsi ...

announced that their respective West London bus operations (including London United,

London Sovereign London Sovereign is a bus company in North London. It is a subsidiary of RATP Dev Transit London and operates buses under contract to Transport for London. Company history London Sovereign can trace its roots back to independent Borehamwood ...

and Tower Transit's Westbourne Park garage) would merge into a new joint venture called

, with RATP Dev having an 87.5% shareholding and Tower Transit 12.5%. The incorporation of the joint venture was finalised on 11 December 2021. Tower Transit's Lea Interchange garage, located in East London, was not part of the joint venture and remained unaffected. In May 2022, it was announced that Tower Transit's remaining East London operations would be sold to

. The acquisition was finalised on 25 June 2022 and these services are now operated by Stagecoach under the Lea Interchange Bus Company Limited legal entity.

Garages

Atlas Road

On 1 October 2011 this garage opened when part of Westbourne Park garage was closed to make way for

Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid Urban rail, urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of London Paddington statio ...

construction works, with the operation of routes 28, 31, 328, N28, and N31 transferred. Atlas Road operated as an outstation for Westbourne Park, so buses are seen on Atlas Road routes and vice versa. With the completion of Crossrail works, all routes returned to Westbourne Park in June 2017 with Atlas Road retained as a maintenance centre. It closed in October 2017, being taken over by London United.

Lea Interchange (LI)

As at May 2022, Lea Interchange garage operated routes 58,

135 135 may refer to: * 135 (number) * AD 135 * 135 BC * 135 film, better known as 35 mm film, is a format of photographic film used for still photography *135 (New Jersey bus) 135 may refer to: * 135 (number) * AD 135 * 135 BC * 135 film, better know ...

236 __NOTOC__ Year 236 ( CCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verus and Africanus (or, less frequently, year 989 ''Ab ...

262 __NOTOC__ Year 262 (Roman numerals, CCLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Faustianus (or, less fre ...

308 __NOTOC__ Year 308 ( CCCVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and (Galerius) Maximianus (or, less ...

339 Year 339 ( CCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Claudius (or, less frequently, year 1092 '' Ab urb ...

, 473, 488,

678 __NOTOC__ Year 678 (Roman numerals, DCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 678 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Do ...

D8, W14. The garage opened in 2007 to replace the Waterden Road, Stratford garage that closed as part of the development of the

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics c ...

for the 2012 Olympic and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

. Waterden Road was opened in 1996 after a number of tender wins. Lea Interchange began operating route 69 on 30 April 2016.

CT Plus HCT Group was a social enterprise providing transport services and community services in several areas of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1982 as Hackney Community Transport in the London Borough of Hackney, to provide transport services ...

took over operation of route 26 and route N26 on 25 June 2016.

London General London General is a bus company operating in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal ...

took over operation of the route 212 and

route 444 The following highways are numbered 444: Australia * Wilsons Promontory Road Canada *Manitoba Provincial Road 444 Japan * Japan National Route 444 United States * Interstate 444 (Unsigned highway, unsigned) * Louisiana Highway ...

on 7 March 2020 and

Docklands Buses Docklands Buses is a bus company operating in East London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. History Docklands Buses was formed by Harry Blundred's Transit Holdings in 1988 ...

took over the 69 on 1 May 2021. On 25 June 2022, the garage and its operations was acquired by Stagecoach London.

Westbourne Park (X)

Westbourne Park garage operated routes 13, 23,

218 Year 218 (Roman numerals, CCXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Adventus (or, less frequently, year ...

228 Year 228 ( CCXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Modestus and Maecius (or, less frequently, year 981 '' Ab urbe con ...

, 414, 452, C3 and N97 Westbourne Park Garage was part of the reconstruction programme undertaken by London Transport in the early 1980s. As was common practice at the time, the new garage replaced two older garages - the small and inadequate Middle Row (X), and the larger former trolley bus garage at Stonebridge (SE). The new garage, which opened in 1981 in Great Western Road, is of unusual design in that it is built beneath the elevated A40 Westway, the roof of the garage being profiled to match the concrete flyover. Originally, the garage allocation consisted of

AEC Routemaster The AEC Routemaster is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport Executive, London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The ...

s, and a small number of

Daimler Fleetline The Daimler Fleetline (known as the Leyland Fleetline from circa 1975) is a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was built between 1960 and 1983. It was the second of three bus models to have a marque name as well as an alphanumeric i ...

s to B20 "quiet" specification for route 18. These were supplemented in 1983 by a number of Leyland Titans for comparative trials. A new 180 metre bus parking area was built on a raised platform over railway lines as part of the

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...

project opening in 2017.

Metroline Metroline is a bus company operating services in Greater London and south Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Corporation and operates services under contract to Transport for London. As at March 2021, the fleet consisted of 1,5 ...

took over the operation of route 295 on 31 October 2015. On 5 March 2016, Westbourne Park took over the operation of route N97 from London United. On 3 October 2020, Westbourne Park depot also took over the operation of route C3 from

Abellio London Abellio London is a bus company operating services in Greater London. A subsidiary of Abellio, it operates services under contract to Transport for London (TfL). Until September 2018, services were operated in Surrey under the Abellio Sur ...

. On 1 May 2021, routes 28 and N28 transferred to London United, with route 328 transferring to Metroline. The Westbourne Park garage was transferred to

on 11 December 2021.

Fleet

As at May 2015, the fleet consisted of 437 buses.

References

External links

Company website
{{London bus operators Former London bus operators Transport companies established in 2013 Transport companies disestablished in 2022 2013 establishments in England 2022 disestablishments in England