ABOVE: New 26-reg 4753 (BF26 ZTK), a Wright StreetDeck Ultroliner, is operated by Arriva Wales on the TrawsCymru network. Route T51 (Wrexham to Rhyl) is a recent addition to the TrawsCymru network, having been introduced in September 2025 in place of routes 51 and X51. This bus first tracked on BusTimes.org on Monday 8 June 2026 and is seen at Wrexham Bus Station on Thursday 18 June.
Quarter Two Snippets (2026)
Stories, pictures and opinions from the last three months that don't merit a full article of their own...
27 June 2026
2026 Travels so far...
Figures for 2026 up to 23 June (I am likely to be adding more to the above tallies as this is published)
Does not include Transport for London bus rides or Classic Bus Running Days
I haven't had many opportunities to travel out of London lately, so the capital features prominently in the below. A virus prevented a planned trip in early May, and it's only in mid-June that I managed to 'escape' again. There are a few previews below of stories to come, though.
New 26-Reg Buses
It took until June to find a new 26-registration bus, and then of course, two batches came along in quick succession!
I found the first London example at Herne Hill Station on Sunday 7 June, and, below, Go-Ahead London General SEO 41 (YX26 KCA), an ADL Enviro100 EV, is that very first discovery, working route 322 (Crystal Palace - Clapham Common).
It took less than two weeks on from this sighting to find a non-London 26-reg, as illustrated at the top of the article.
The next registration series - 76-reg - is due from 1 September.
Two Chance Juxtapositions
Hatton Cross is the place to go to watch planes coming into London's Heathrow Airport. A group of us joined up for a tour of the perimeter of Heathrow Airport on Saturday 18 April, and I managed to get this juxtaposition of a British Airways plane and a London Transport UK bus in the same shot. The bus is an ADL Enviro200 on route 490 to Richmond. The plane is ... about to land!
In Acton High Street, London, on Sunday 7 June, I managed to get this chance shot (below) of two electric single-decker buses, which perhaps demonstrate how things have moved on from the early designs.
On the left is First Bus London BE 37013 (LJ18 FJU), a BYD D8UR ADL Enviro200EV. New to London United in 2018, and transferred to First Bus London when the latter bought that company, it shows the awkward shape and styling of the battery compartment on the roof. Perhaps it was trying to emulate the Leyland National, and it might have succeeded if the roofbox had been pushed right to the back. Route 70 (South Kensington to Chiswick Business Park) was one of the early London conversions to electric traction.
On the right is First Bus London WKE 37108 (MF25 HFS), a Wright GB Kite Electroliner. This has a sleek full-length battery box that is every bit a part of the overall design. Many electric single-deck models now incorporate similar styling and, although it makes them look rather box-like, in my view they are elegant.
Route 218 (Hammersmith to North Acton) was introduced in 2019 to replace a higher-frequency double-deck route that often couldn't cope with passenger numbers out of Hammersmith. I dread to think what it's like trying to board at Hammersmith nowadays - thankfully, I no longer need to do so regularly.
We Want Information, Information, Information...
Phil Tonks, a broadcaster and transport advocate who writes the "On This Bus" blog, is a big fan of North Wales, and he and I share a common belief that much more needs to be done to publicise buses in that area (see his excellent article here).
I was in Llandudno on Tuesday 16 June, looking for bus 13 out of town to Prestatyn. All the real-time advice in the bus shelter had for me was the following:
And the timetables themselves were less than inspiring:
Incidentally, unless you have a really strong phone signal, you're unlikely to be able to access the information hidden behind the QR Codes. As Mr Tonks puts it; "the mobile Internet in Llandudno ... is useless. The town is infamous for being a mobile-nightmare".
Arriva Wales / Conwy County Borough Council: Must do better!
I was planning a day trip to Dover, to look at the Fastrack service now running there, and to see what else was around. This led me to an useful town network map on the Stagecoach website:
Enough there to keep me occupied!
One route that stood out, as an interesting "round the houses" option, was the 67. It starts at the top of the map, and you can follow it to Buckland Bridge, where it vanishes as the various routes are consolidated towards the town centre. The map key suggests that it runs every hour.
But I couldn't find a timetable - not on Stagecoach's website or on BusTimes.org. A bit of digging online came up with this:
So the 67 was axed in December 2025. But, as I write this, it's still showing on Stagecoach's map. Time for an update, Stagecoach?
Is social distancing still a thing in North Wales?
It is, judging by the advice to "keep a safe distance from others" on this bus shelter near Rhyl, still in situ on Thursday 18 June 2026:
Christmas is Coming...
It's true, I'm afraid. By the time this is published we will be closer to Christmas 2026 than to Christmas 2025! However, I suspect that the poster (below) on Stagecoach route 84 bus from Crewe to Chester, on Monday 15 June, is out of date rather than ahead of its time...
Sometimes, no translation is necessary!
I don't speak a word of Welsh, lovely language though it is. But I didn't need to wait for the English translation of the message below, on a Transport for Wales train, to work out roughly what it was about (sorry it's blurred). Once you know what you're looking at, the last line is obvious.
I don't think you will need a translation either, as we all hear this message (in English) more often than the King hears the National Anthem, but, in case you do need a translation, there's one at the very end of this article.
I don't think you will need a translation either, as we all hear this message (in English) more often than the King hears the National Anthem, but, in case you do need a translation, there's one at the very end of this article.
CLUE: The number in the third row.
Windsor Classic Bus Running Day
Here are two of my favourite pictures from the Amersham & District Motorbus Society Classic Bus Running Day, held on Sunday 10 May and centred on Windsor Coach Park.
This was a lovely civilised event. Instead of one massive queue, each departure effectively had its own 'stand', enabling people to walk down the line to see what was available and board straight away.
Below, preserved RML 2456 (JJD 456D), a long version of the AEC Routemaster, looks resplendent in its 60th year as it passes along River Street in the Town Centre. Introduced into the "Country" area of London Transport, it passed to London Country on the formation of that company in 1970. It later returned to London Transport and spent a few years on my local 207 route, and it finished its days at Stagecoach London's Bow Garage, being retired at the age of 38 in 2004.
This was a lovely civilised event. Instead of one massive queue, each departure effectively had its own 'stand', enabling people to walk down the line to see what was available and board straight away.
Below, preserved RML 2456 (JJD 456D), a long version of the AEC Routemaster, looks resplendent in its 60th year as it passes along River Street in the Town Centre. Introduced into the "Country" area of London Transport, it passed to London Country on the formation of that company in 1970. It later returned to London Transport and spent a few years on my local 207 route, and it finished its days at Stagecoach London's Bow Garage, being retired at the age of 38 in 2004.
The best view of the Coach Park (which remained operational throughout the event) was to be had from the Windsor to Slough train. So, as I left, I photographed RM 188 (VLT 188, below), setting off on another trip, with a selection of other Running Day participants lined up:
I made sure to get Windsor Castle in the background! And, two days after this event, I was a guest at a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace! I just throw that in, you understand, to show the range of different things that I get up to (or just to show off)!
What's that on the Bridge?
On Friday 19 June, I was heading by train through Runcorn, and I thought I would take the opportunity to try to photograph the Silver Jubilee Bridge, as the train passed over the adjacent Ethelfleda Bridge.
I took several pictures in quick succession, and thought no more about things until I downloaded the pictures at home, where I found ... this perfect image, below, of an Arriva VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2, heading north. I hadn't even noticed the bus when I took the picture!
The Ethelfleda Bridge, Grade-II* listed, opened in 1868. It may have been named after Ethelfleda, a ruler of the historic Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, and the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great. The Bridge is also known as the Britannia Railway Bridge or "Tueller's Girder".
I'm proud of this picture, as I do believe it shows the scale of the structure, as demonstrated by the fact that the bridge dwarfs the houses and the road below. The Mersey itself is just visible on the left.
Incidentally, I believe that I drove over the Silver Jubilee Bridge around 20 years ago (when my geographical knowledge was far less detailed than it is now). We were on our way to Warrington. north-east of Runcorn when we stumbled across the magnificent bridge. As the M6 motorway is to the east of Warrington, we either took a detour somewhere, or we were off course. Either is possible.
You can read more about Runcorn, its unique (in this country) Busway and its bridges in my earlier article here.
A Few Railway Snippets
As always, this is my quarterly 'opportunity' to touch on some non-bus items. And on Tuesday 9 June, I came across one of the first trains to have been branded in readiness for the forthcoming Great British Railways. Below is "Arterio" unit 701 006, currently operated by South Western Railway. It is sitting on platform 19 at London Waterloo station, awaiting its departure as the 1618 service to Reading.
I was rather amused by this tweet from Network Rail about the refurbishment of the footbridge at Clapham Junction station. It was the bit about allowing extra time, "especially if you're catching a train". I found myself wondering why else you would be there...?
OK, you might be trying to leave the station, I suppose...
Whilst we're looking at information, I found the below at Bracknell station on Saturday 14 March. One assumes that it is designed so that relevant engineering details can be added when necessary, but it just looks so untidy when there is nothing to report.
Whilst we're looking at information, I found the below at Bracknell station on Saturday 14 March. One assumes that it is designed so that relevant engineering details can be added when necessary, but it just looks so untidy when there is nothing to report.
The sign also offers "Advanced Notice" rather than "Advance Notice" - a common mistake in signage of this type. One should use "advance" for actions and things done ahead of time, and "advanced" to describe something that is complex, highly developed, or far along (eg, an advanced degree or advanced technology). See Thesaurus.com for a detailed explanation, where you can also look up the phrase "high horse", as in "I'll get off my high horse now".
I got on my high horse for real when looking at Network Rail advice on alternative routes after the Elizabeth Line had one of its all-too-frequent meltdowns on Friday 22 May:
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Some of the issues that people might face if following this advice:
- Route 205 no longer serves Paddington
- Route 10 was withdrawn in 2018
- Route 23 hasn't served Liverpool Street since 2017
- Route 48 was axed in 2019
- Route 25 was pulled back from Oxford Circus to City Thameslink in 2018, and has never served Liverpool Street
- The X26 became Superloop SL5 in 2023
- Route 7 doesn't serve Ealing Broadway (the Night N7 does, but that's not much use at eight in the morning)
- Route 83 hasn't served Ealing Broadway since 2016
- Routes 207 & 427 don't go to Paddington, and the 427 hasn't served Ealing Broadway since 2023
- The "From Southall / Hayes & Harlington / West Drayton" bit is far too vague. The 140 and E6 serve Hayes & Harlington but neither of the other places listed, whilst the 195 serves Hayes and Southall but doesn't link to Ealing or Heathrow (it does go to the South Western Railway station at Brentford, though). And anyone emerging from West Drayton would struggle to find any of the buses listed as none of them go there.
I tweeted National Rail and suggested that they check the bus information and, to their credit, they did. Not with Transport for London, though, but with me! I had a tweet back within minutes and was able to feed back on some of the worst errors. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to go through and list all of the issues, and I wasn't able to check whether the details were corrected, because, once I start work, there's never time to think about anything else!
Well done, National Rail, for listening, but you need to do a lot of work on this information before it is next needed...
Maybe they got the advice direct from TfL?
I was tempted to suggest that National Rail took its information directly from Transport for London (TfL), given the latter's sloppy presentation of its own service information. At Vauxhall (below), on Sunday 7 June, First Bus London VMH 45346 (LJ17 WSX), a Volvo B5LH MCV EvoSeti, sets off on route 452, which has terminated at Notting Hill Gate since November 2025. However, the bus stop flag still shows the old destination of Kensal Rise, not actually served since 2022!
I also recently found a timetable, near Waterloo Station, for route 168, which was withdrawn in 2023. Route 1, which I profiled earlier in the year, replaced it.
Hop to It!
TfL is running a special weekend offer during school holidays this summer with the "Weekend Hopper", where you will be able to make as many bus journeys as you like all day for the price of a single journey (£1.75).
Three buses have received a significant makeover to publicise the scheme, including First Bus London OME 46023 (YJ21 EXE), an Optare MetroDecker EV. It is seen in Trafalgar Square, under very threatening skies, on Thursday 4 June.
Any Stock Image will do...
BBC News chose to publicise the introduction of the new SL11 Superloop service, back in January, with this picture of a bus publicising the Elizabeth Line. To be fair, they did try to link the picture to the story by explaining that the service will link to the Elizabeth Line at Abbey Wood, but a picture of a Superloop bus would have been better...
Random Buses in Random Places
(or ... An Excuse to Publish Yet More Photos)
Here are a couple of random pictures of buses that I have taken recently that I can't see fitting into any particular article. First, here's LT52 WVY, a Volvo B7TL Alexander ALX400 belonging to P&O Lloyd of North Wales, with a double-deck working on route 126 (Holywell to Mold). It's school run time, and it looks like this double-decker is a regular on these journeys.
The location is Greenfield Road, just after turning off Mostyn Road, near Holywell in Flintshire, North Wales, and this is the only journey of the day that extends beyond Holywell to "Wal-wen, near Glan-y-don", if that means anything to you! This is on that extension, and the time stamp of my picture (16:10) suggests that the bus is running 16 minutes late.
BELOW: At Hatton Cross on Saturday 18 April is White Bus 69 (BU25 ZKB), a Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora, working route 555 to Walton-on-Thames. The bus is in Flightline colours, but without the words yet - an expanding livery that is being applied to several non-TfL routes serving the airport.
BELOW: Select Bus Services 6 (BD14 KXY), a Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse 2, heads through Shrewsbury Town Centre on route 436 to Bridgnorth. This bus first entered service in Malta, where it was registered BUS 373.
BELOW: A few extra buses were in evidence on the occasion of the London Underground strike of Thursday 4 June, including this Chaseside ADL Enviro400, which was operating as an extra on route 24. It is seen here in Charing Cross Road, near Leicester Square.
A Very Late Running Bus
I was in the Southend area on Saturday 28 March and decided to finish the day with a ride on Arriva route 9, all the way from Rayleigh to Shoeburyness via Southend Town Centre, normally a run of 81 minutes.
All was going well until the outskirts of Southend, when the traffic started to build up. It got heavier and heavier, and I eventually decided to give up in Southend Town Centre and abandon the run to Shoeburyness. At this point the bus was 58 minutes late.
I 'followed' the progress of the bus on BusTimes.org and it eventually reached its destination 84 minutes late. A bit of digging next day identified the issue.
All was going well until the outskirts of Southend, when the traffic started to build up. It got heavier and heavier, and I eventually decided to give up in Southend Town Centre and abandon the run to Shoeburyness. At this point the bus was 58 minutes late.
I 'followed' the progress of the bus on BusTimes.org and it eventually reached its destination 84 minutes late. A bit of digging next day identified the issue.
Coming Soon...
The pictures below are linked to articles that I will be bringing to you over the coming weeks. I do note that two of the four articles promised in my previous Snippets article have yet to appear, but they will also be coming soon!
In case a translation was necessary...
The Welsh message above is saying something along the lines of the following:
"If you see something that doesn't look right, speak to a member of staff or text the British Transport Police on 61016.
"We'll sort it.
"See it, say it, sorted."
"If you see something that doesn't look right, speak to a member of staff or text the British Transport Police on 61016.
"We'll sort it.
"See it, say it, sorted."
And Finally...
My brother bought me a Lego-style model kit of a New Routemaster for Christmas, and I finally got around to putting it together one evening. I think it looks very good:
It took me about three hours to build, which I'm very pleased about because it said "4 Years" on the box...
See you next time!