East London Bus & Coach Company Limited,

trading as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Stagecoach London, is a bus company operating in

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 ...

. The East London brand is a subsidiary of

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 ...

and operates services under contract to

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

from seven garages.

History

On 1 April 1989, London Buses was divided into 11 separate business units, one of which was East London. In 1994, East London was sold to

Stagecoach Holdings Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses and express coaches in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach was originally founded in 1976 as ''Gloagtrotter'', a recreational vehicle and minibus hire business. Duri ...

at the same time as fellow subsidiary

Selkent South East London & Kent Bus Company Limited, trading as Stagecoach London, is a bus company operating in central and south London and some parts of north-west Kent. The Selkent brand is a subsidiary of Stagecoach London and operates services und ...

for £42 million (), with operations subsequently rebranded to Stagecoach East London. In November 2000, in line with the rebranding of the wider Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach East London and Selkent were consolidated under the

brand. In August 2006, Stagecoach sold its London bus operations to

Macquarie Bank Macquarie Group Limited (), more commonly known as Macquarie Bank, is an Australian multinational investment banking and financial services group headquartered in Sydney and listed on the ASX (). Macquarie's investment banking division is Au ...

for £264million (). The new owner restored the East London name and Thames sailing barge logo. In October 2010, Stagecoach reacquired its old London operations for a reduced sum of £53million (), with East London once again rebranded as Stagecoach London. In August 2022, East London purchased buses from

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 f ...

that the social enterprise carried out on behalf of

. The deal saw around 500 members of staff and 160 buses transfer, along with leases on depots at Ash Grove and Walthamstow Avenue.

Livery

When privatised, East London had a standard London Buses red livery with a grey skirt, though a fleet of dual-door Optare Deltas delivered to the company in 1992 wore a silver and red livery. Following privatisation, Selkent adopted an all-red livery with white Stagecoach East London fleetnames. This was replaced by a new standard bus livery of a dark blue skirt and orange and light blue swirl at the rear, with Stagecoach's standard off-white replaced by red to conform with Transport for London contractual requirements for buses on TfL services to be 80% red. While the company was owned by Macquarie Bank, an all-red livery was introduced, which was retained by Stagecoach to remain compliant with updated TfL livery regulations.

Garages

East London operates seven

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 ...

Ash Grove (HK)

As of September 2024, Ash Grove garage operates routes 26,

242 Year 242 (Roman numerals, CCXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gratus and Lepidus (or, less frequently, year 995 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

309 __NOTOC__ Year 309 ( CCCIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Licinianus and Constantius (or, less frequently, year 1062 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

310 __NOTOC__ Year 310 ( CCCX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Andronicus and Probus (or, less frequently, year 1063 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 310 ...

388 Year 388 ( CCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1141 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 3 ...

394 __NOTOC__ Year 394 (CCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Western Europe as the Year of the Consulship of Flavianus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1147 ''Ab urbe condi ...

, D6, D7,

N26 N26 Bank SE, doing business as N26, and formerly named Papayer GmbH, and Number26 GmbH'','' is a multinational German fintech and neobank company based in Berlin that offers a variety of financial services to individuals and businesses. N26 was ...

, N242, N550 and N551.

Barking (BK)

As of April 2023, Barking garage operates routes 62,

145 145 may refer to: *145 (number), a natural number *AD 145, a year in the 2nd century AD *145 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *145 (dinghy), a two-person intermediate sailing dinghy *145 (South) Brigade, a regional brigade of the British Army that ...

167 Year 167 ( CLXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Quadratus (or, less frequently, year 920 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 167 for t ...

169 Year 169 (Roman numerals, CLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Apollinaris (or, less frequently, year 922 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

173 Year 173 ( CLXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Pompeianus (or, less frequently, year 926 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 173 for th ...

179 Year 179 (Roman numerals, CLXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Veru (or, less frequently, year 932 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

238 __NOTOC__ Year 238 ( CCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pius and Pontianus (or, less frequently, year 991 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 238 ...

, 362, 462, 667 and

673 __NOTOC__ Year 673 ( DCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 673 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Eur ...

. On 27 August 2017, route 5 passed to

Blue Triangle Blue Triangle is a bus operator brand under London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London. It operates services in East London under contract to Transport for London. It is the operator of the East London Transit servic ...

. On 30 March 2019, route 396 passed to

. On 29 April 2023, route 366 passed to Blue Triangle. Barking garage was opened in 1924 by the

London General Omnibus Company The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC, was the principal bus operator in London between 1855 and 1933. It was also, for a short period between 1909 and 1912, a motor bus manufacturer. Overview The London General Omnibus Company was f ...

to cater for the increased demand from the new housing estates springing up in

Becontree Becontree ( or Both pronunciations are given as Received Pronunciation in the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, but the form is prioritised (). The dialectologist Peter Wright wrote in 1981 that is the traditional pronunciation in the cockney ...

. Barking was the last London Transport garage to operate

AEC Regent III RT The AEC Regent III RT was one of the variants of the AEC Regent III. It was a double-decker bus produced jointly between AEC and London Transport. It was the standard red London bus in the 1950s and continued to outnumber the better-known ...

buses in revenue-earning service, the type being withdrawn following a final running day on route 62 on 7 April 1979. In 1992, it was intended to close this garage, along with those at North Street (Romford) and Seven Kings, in favour of a new garage and company headquarters for East London at

Chadwell Heath Chadwell Heath is an area in East London, England. It is split between the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Redbridge, around west of Romford and east of Ilford, and north-east of Charing Cross. History Topon ...

. However, the Chadwell Heath complex would not be built due to the land for it being contaminated, resulting in only Seven Kings garage closing. Thus, by 1994, Barking found itself with a scheduled requirement for 109 buses, mainly

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

s and Optare Deltas.

Bow (BW)

As of July 2020, Bow garage operates routes 8, 25,

205 Year 205 ( CCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Geta (or, less frequently, year 958 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 205 for this year h ...

, 425, N8, N25, N205 and N277. On 27 August 2017, routes 15 and N15 passed to

. Opened as a tram depot by the north Metropolitan Tramways Company in 1908 on land once occupied by an asylum, it was converted to operate trolley buses in 1939. It was converted to motor bus operation in 1959 including the installation of large overground fuel tanks. Shortly after its conversion, it took up the allocation of the nearby Clay Hall garage when that closed. The garage has had a long association with the

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 ...

, receiving its first examples in the early 1960s, some of which remained right up until August 2004 when the type was withdrawn from route 8. In December 2007, Bow took over the running of route 15H from the closed Waterden Road garage until this moved to West Ham in June 2009.

Leyton (T)

As of March 2025, Leyton garage operates routes 20, 55, 56,

215 Year 215 ( CCXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laetus and Sulla (or, less frequently, year 968 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 215 for this year ha ...

257 __NOTOC__ Year 257 (Roman numerals, CCLVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerianus and Gallienus (or, less frequently, year 1010 ''Ab urbe condita'') ...

275 __NOTOC__ Year 275 ( CCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelianus and Marcellinus (or, less frequently, year 1028 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

616 __NOTOC__ Year 616 ( DCXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 616 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe f ...

657 __NOTOC__ Year 657 ( DCLVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 657 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe ...

and N55. Leyton garage was built in 1912 by the

to replace an existing garage acquired from London Metropolitan, and was in an ideal position to benefit from developing areas. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the garage suffered bomb damage but was not rebuilt until a major renovation in 1955. The garage was the first to receive post-war

s, 78 of which were allocated by 1947, with a further 30 added for the trolleybus conversion program in 1959. RT operation at Leyton ended in 1972. When the London buses subsidiaries were established, Leyton was taken up by 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 ...

subsidiary. In 1991, plans to close the garage were a contributing factor in strike action by all of the company's staff, which ultimately resulted in the winding-up of London Forest, with Leyton garage passing to East London. Leyton was the first garage for another bus type in May 1999 when Stagecoach began taking delivery of an order of over 100 low-floor

Alexander ALX400 The Alexander ALX400 (later known as the TransBus ALX400 and the Alexander Dennis ALX400) is a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders (later by TransBus International/ Alexander Dennis). It was one of the ALX-s ...

bodied

Dennis Trident 2 The Dennis Trident 2 (the 2 standing for 2-axle) is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally manufactured by Dennis, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow. It was built by TransBus after Dennis was incorporat ...

s, 62 of which were allocated to the garage. These were the first of the type to enter service with the Stagecoach Group.

Romford (NS)

As of March 2024, Romford garage operates routes 86,Six buses for route 86 are stabled overnight at Lea Interchange garage, and are chosen at random every day. All of the buses and drivers are based out of Romford garage.

128 128 may refer to *128 (number), a natural number *AD 128, a year in the 2nd century AD *128 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *128 (New Jersey bus) *128 Nemesis, a main-belt asteroid *Fiat 128, also known as the Zastava 128, a small family car **SEAT ...

193 Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday 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 condita''). The denomination 193 for this ye ...

247 __NOTOC__ Year 247 ( CCXLVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Severus (or, less frequently, year 1000 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

256 Year 256 ( CCLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 1009 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 256 for this y ...

(AM peak journey), 294,

296 __NOTOC__ Year 296 ( CCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Constantius (or, less frequently, year 1049 ''Ab urbe condita''). T ...

365 365 may refer to: * 365 (number), an integer * a common year, consisting of 365 calendar days * AD 365, a year of the Julian calendar * 365 BC, a year of the 4th century BC Media outlets * 365 (media corporation), Icelandic TV company * 365 ...

(night service only on this 24-hour route),

498 __NOTOC__ Year 498 ( CDXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paulinus and Scytha (or, less frequently, year 1251 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

and N86. Romford garage is also called North Street (hence its NS code) as London Transport already had a 'country bus' garage: Romford (London Road). It was opened in 1953 to take the strain off nearby Hornchurch garage, and also to cope with the new Harold Hill estate. Built in the post-war style of a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

station, it was initially able to house 115 buses, although only 67 were allocated when opened. The allocation grew to 90 by 1958. In 1992, along with Barking and Seven Kings (which did subsequently close although due to loss of routes by competitive tender), the garage was earmarked for closure in favour of the new garage and company headquarters at Chadwell Heath, which ultimately was never built. By 1994, Romford was allocated 84 buses, mainly Leyland Titans. In 2004, the allocation had dropped slightly to 76, although with a good year of tender wins in 2005 the garage is up to full capacity. The garage was home to East London Coaches private hire operation from 1990 to 2005 when the section moved to the now closed Waterden Road garage. On 2 March 2013, route 86 was partially transferred from this garage to West Ham (WH).

Walthamstow Avenue (AW)

As of 31st August 2024, Walthamstow Avenue garage operates routes

379 Year 379 ( CCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ausonius and Hermogenianus (or, less frequently, year 1132 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 379 ...

385 Year 385 (Roman numerals, CCCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arcadius, Augustus and Bauto (or, less frequently, year 1138 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

397 Year 397 ( CCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesarius and Atticus (or, less frequently, year 1150 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

, W5, W11, W12, W16 and W19.

West Ham (WH)

As of September 2024, West Ham garage operates routes

241 Year 241 ( CCXLI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gordianus and Pompeianus by the Romans (or, less frequently, year 994 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

, 277,

323 Year 323 ( CCCXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 1076 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 323 for this ...

330 __NOTOC__ Year 330 ( CCCXXX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallicanus and Tullianus (or, less frequently, year 1083 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

474 __NOTOC__ Year 474 ( CDLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Leo without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1227 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

and 667. On 27 August 2017, route 115 passed to

. On 30 March 2019, routes 262 and 473 passed to

Tower Transit Tower Transit Operations Limited, which traded as Tower Transit, is a bus company who operated in East and West London. They are a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group and operated services under contract to Transport for London. Currently they op ...

. The present West Ham garage was opened in February 2008 as the replacement for Stratford garage. Whilst construction work was underway, all major engineering work on its buses was carried out at Rainham. The garage became fully operational in November 2009, taking over its own maintenance, and was formally opened in July 2010. The garage is capable of holding over 320 buses. It is the biggest bus garage in England and is the new location for

's head office and training centre.

Former garages

Stratford (SD)

Stratford garage opened in 1992. It was a large yard on an old industrial estate by the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

, opposite the Hackney garage which was owned by

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

. It was originally called Bow Midibus Base as it housed midibuses which had been previously based at Bow and West Ham. It also operated buses with rooftop flashing beacons for the

London City Airport London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, Borough of Newham, about east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres ...

contract. One vehicle from this garage was destroyed in the London bombings of 7 July 2005. Thirteen passengers were killed, but the driver of the route 30 bus, George Psaradakis, escaped serious injury and was able to return to work in September alongside Mark Maybanks, who was driving a route 26 bus that was involved in a thwarted bomb attempt in

Haggerston Haggerston is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. There is an Haggerston (ward), electoral ward called Haggerston within the borough. H ...

on 21 July. The route 30 bus was replaced in October 2005 by the first

Alexander Dennis Enviro400 The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400 (from which the Enviro400 was developed). In 201 ...

off the production line, which was named " Spirit of London". Stratford garage closed in February 2008, with operations transferred to West Ham, to allow the site to be redeveloped for the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Waterden Road (WA)

Waterden Road garage opened early in 2004 with space for approximately 100 buses, mainly articulated

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, ...

s for route 25. By 2005, East London had relocated both its training centre and its private hire fleet here. The private hire fleet was disbanded in 2007. The garage was open for less than four years. In December 2007, the site was closed to allow redevelopment for the

. The training centre was moved to West Ham.

Upton Park (U)

Prior to West Ham being built Upton Park was the largest garage in the east end of London. It was opened by the LRCC in 1907 but was requisitioned for the war effort in 1915 and was not returned to use until 1919. In 1931, the site was revamped and enlarged; capacity was increased to just over 200 buses. In 1988, the garage operated the X15 ''Beckton Express'' using ex-Green Line

RMCs. The service was a trial, and sold newspapers to commuters on board. On 16 September 2011, Upton Park garage closed, with drivers, buses and routes redeployed to West Ham, Barking and Bow garages. A small number of non-driving staff were made redundant as a result of the closure. The garage was demolished in 2016 and redeveloped into a mixed-density social housing development named ''The Forge''.

Fleet

As at May 2015, East London had a peak vehicle requirement of 607 buses.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control London bus operators Stagecoach Group bus operators in England Transport companies established in 1989 1989 establishments in England