Blue Triangle is a bus company operating services in East London. It is a subsidiary of the

Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...

and operates most services under contract to Transport for London. It is the operator of the

East London Transit East London Transit (ELT) is a part-segregated bus rapid transit, operated as part of the London Buses network. The East London Transit opened in phases between 2010 and 2013. The scheme for this system was developed by Transport for London ...

service.

History

In August 2002, Blue Triangle took over route 185 at short notice after London Easylink ceased trading. On 29 June 2007, Blue Triangle was purchased by the

. The sale included eight Transport for London and nine

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

routes and approximately 60 buses, but not the charter fleet which were retained by Roger Wright trading as The London Bus Company.

Garage

River Road (RR)

In May 2016 a new garage opened in River Road,

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

. It initially opened with an allocation of 22 buses to operate route 147 but has a capacity for 155 buses. It was built on the site of a former

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

commercial vehicle sales and repair site. In July 2016, all of the routes and buses from Rainham garage were transferred."Short Hops" ''Buses'' issue 737 August 2016 page 27 As at July 2021, River Road garage operated routes 5, 101,

104 104 may refer to: *104 (number), a natural number *AD 104, a year in the 2nd century AD * 104 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 104 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route * Hundred and Four (or Council of 104), a Carthagin ...

147 147 may refer to: * 147 (number), a natural number * AD 147, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century * 147 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 147 AH, a year in the Islamic calendar that corresponds to 764 – 765 CE ...

, 346,

364 __NOTOC__ Year 364 ( CCCLXIV) was a leap 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 Augustus and Varronianus (or, less frequently, year 11 ...

396 __NOTOC__ Year 396 (Roman numerals, CCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Augustus (or, less ...

, 608,

646 __NOTOC__ Year 646 ( DCXLVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 646 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

652 __NOTOC__ Year 652 ( DCLII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 652 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era be ...

656 __NOTOC__ Year 656 ( DCLVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 656 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era bec ...

677 __NOTOC__ Year 677 ( DCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 677 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

679 __NOTOC__ Year 679 ( DCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 679 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...

, 686, 687, EL1, EL2 and EL3.

Former garage

Rainham (BE)

As at May 2015, Rainham garage operated routes 167,

193 Year 193 ( CXCIII) 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 Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 '' Ab urbe condi ...

300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 ( CCC) was a leap 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 Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1053 ''Ab ...

347 Year 347 ( CCCXLVII) 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 Rufinus and Eusebius (or, less frequently, year 1100 ''Ab urbe c ...

362 Year 362 ( CCCLXII) was a common 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 Mamertinus and Nevitta (or, less frequently, year 1115 ''Ab urbe ...

, 368,

376 __NOTOC__ Year 376 (Roman numerals, CCCLXXVI) 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 Valens and Augustus (or, less frequently, ...

, 462, 498, 608,

, 648, 649, 650,

651 Year 651 (DCLI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 651 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the ...

, 667,

674 __NOTOC__ Year 674 ( DCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 674 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

, 686, EL1, EL2 and W19. On 27 June 2015, route 498 passed 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 ...

. In July 2016 the garage closed with all operations transferred to Barking (River Road).

Previous routes operated

* Route 372 was won on a temporary contract as part replacement for route 324 which ran between

Romford Market Romford Market is a large open market with 270 stalls,Havering London Borough Council< ...

and

Bluewater Shopping Centre Bluewater Shopping Centre (commonly referred to as Bluewater) is an out-of-town shopping centre in Stone (postally Greenhithe), Kent, England, outside the M25 motorway, east south east of London's centre. Opened on 16 March 1999 in a former chal ...

, Blue Triangle was awarded the temporary contract using four second hand Plaxton Pointer bodied

Dennis Dart The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles of Guildford, England in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, In 1996 the low-floor seco ...

s. In March 2004, Blue Triangle retained the contract for another five years. This route has since passed to

. *In 2001 Blue Triangle commenced operating route 248. In September 2008, the passed to

. * Route 375 was won on a temporary contract as a part replacement to Essex County Council route 500, which was withdrawn between Ongar and Romford, Transport for London stepped in with this replacement service using just one bus. On 4 July 2009 this passed to Arriva Southern Counties. *In September 2003 Blue Triangle commenced operating route 66. In September 2010 this passed to Arriva Southern Counties. *On 3 November 2007 Blue Triangle commenced operating route 368. On 26 March 2011 this passed to

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 ...

but was re-acquired on 22 June 2013. *In September 2001 Blue Triangle commenced operating route 648. On 3 September 2011 this route passed to First London but was re-acquired on 22 June 2013. *In March 2012 Blue Triangle commenced operating route 20.

Special vehicles

Blue Triangle owned a number of special vehicles including an ex Green Line

AEC Routemaster The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one ...

, ex London Routemasters and

AEC Regent III RT AEC may refer to: Organizations * Catalan Space Agency (Agència Espacial de Catalunya) * Ars Electronica Center, Linz, Austria * Art Ensemble of Chicago, US Governance * African Economic Community * African Energy Chamber * Alaska Engineer ...

s for use on charter duties. These vehicles were not included in the sale to Go-Ahead Group and remain in the ownership of Roger Wright's London Bus Company.Welcome to The London Bus Company
London Bus Company

Fleet

As at May 2015, Blue Triangle's London services had a peak vehicle requirement of 131 buses.

References

External links

*
Blue Triangle WebsiteGo-Ahead Group Website
{{Bus companies in East England Go-Ahead Group London bus operators Transport in Epping Forest District