Ash Grove bus garage is a

bus garage A bus garage, also known as a bus depot, bus base or bus barn, is a facility where buses are stored and maintained. In many conurbations, bus garages are on the site of former car barns or tram sheds, where trams (streetcars) were stored, a ...

in Hackney,

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

owned by

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

. It is located on Ash Grove, off

Mare Street Mare Street is a street in the London Borough of Hackney. It has existed since the 15th century, when it was one of the first roads at the centre of the parish. It was then known as ''Merestret''. The word ''mere'' was either the Old English ' ...

, north of the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

and is occupied by

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 running into Central Londo ...

. The garage was opened in April 1981 by London Transport and has been leased to a number of bus operators over the years.

History

Ash Grove is one of three new garages opened in 1981 by London Transport at a cost of £3.5 million. It had space for 140 buses undercover and a further 30 in the yard. The roof was unusual in being carried by ten 35-ton triangular trusses supported on

reinforced concrete column A reinforced concrete column is a structural member designed to carry compressive loads, composed of concrete with an embedded steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pur ...

s. The garage assumed Hackney's operation of Red Arrow routes 502 and 513 using new

Leyland National The Leyland National is an integrally constructed British step-floor single-decker bus manufactured in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industries – the National Bus Com ...

s, and replaced two garages in Hackney and

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas i ...

that had opened in 1889 and 1906 respectively. When London Buses was split into eleven separate companies Ash Grove became part of the

London Forest London Forest was a subsidiary of London Transport that operated bus services in London between April 1989 and November 1991. History London Forest was formed as one of the eleven operating units of London Transport in readiness for privatisa ...

operation, but closed in 1991 when London Forest was wound up.London Bus Garages: Ash Grove '' The London Bus'' Volume 6 2019 pages 116-120

1990s

The garage was re-opened in 1994 by

Kentish Bus Kentish Bus was a bus operator in South East England and London. It was formed from the split of London Country Bus Services in 1986 as London Country South East (LCSE) and operated a fleet of around 170 buses from four garages, with its headqu ...

, who had gained a small number of routes in the

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 Ri ...

area, including former Boro'line route 108. Kentish referred to the garage as Cambridge Heath. At various times, Ash Grove was used to store vehicles for the

London Transport Museum The London Transport Museum (LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of Transport in London, London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the histo ...

.Arriva London - News - Ash Grove garage fully operational again

2000s

Ash Grove re-opened again in 2000 for use by the London Buses company

East Thames Buses East Thames Buses was the trading name of London Buses Limited, an arms length subsidiary of Transport for London. In 2009, it was sold to London General, Go-Ahead London. History East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the servic ...

which took over the former

Harris Bus Harris Bus was an English bus operator that operated services under contract to Transport for London. History Harris Bus was established in October 1986 as bus and coach operator in Grays. In 1997 it diversified, operating routes under contra ...

routes after that company ran into financial difficulties. East Thames Buses later moved to new premises at Mandela Way.

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 f ...

used the garage yard to house its routes won in the London area.

Arriva London Arriva London is a bus operator operating primarily in Greater London and partially in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services for London Buses under contract to Transport for London. Oper ...

used the depot as the base for their new

Mercedes-Benz Citaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/ EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia, ...

articulated buses for route 38 following the conversion from

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 in November 2005. This has ended following the route's conversion back to double-deck operation, but routes 78 and

168 Year 168 ( CLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Paullus (or, less frequently, year 921 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 168 for thi ...

have been transferred to operate from the garage.

2020s

On 24 February 2024,

vacated their buses and their only route allocated to this garage from the premises. This was due to route

254 Year 254 ( CCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 1007 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 254 for th ...

transferring to Stamford Hill garage.

Industrial relations

The garage has suffered from a number of industrial relations difficulties in its history. In 1991, London Forest won a group of eleven tendered routes in the

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

area on the basis of very low prices. This led to the company proposing a pay cut of around 18% to all staff, which saw staff at all of its four garages strike. Following these events the company was wound up and the garage closed. In June 2008, forty CT Plus employees based at the garage protested against the dismissal of a shop steward who had refused to drive a bus with a health and safety defect. October 2010 saw strike action by CT Plus workers in a dispute over pay, although most services were not disrupted significantly.Hackney bus services continue despite strike , Eastlondonlines
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References

External links

{{coord , 51, 32, 9, N, 0, 3, 32, W, type:landmark_region:GB-HCK, display=title Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hackney Bus garages in London Transport infrastructure completed in 1981