Harris Bus
Encyclopedia
Harris Bus is a former bus company based in West Thurrock
. It was a subsidiary of Harris Coaches, and operated a small fleet of buses. On deregulation of bus services
it was one of the early operators of tendered services for London Buses
.
Harris Bus went into receivership
in 2000, with its London operations and assets transferred to East Thames Buses
.
. Harris also owned an ex-Southdown Queen Mary. In 1997 London route 108 was awarded from Kentish Bus to Harris Bus, a newcomer to London bus operations.
London bus services were initially operated from the firm's far-away base in West Thurrock
, although the subsequent win of routes 180 and 132 saw operation transferred to a new base in Belvedere london bus garage
, purchased in 1998.
Harris buses could also be seen on services to Lakeside Shopping Centre
. Revenues were also boosted through employing the Pyoneer double-deckers to carry clubbers to and from Amadeus nightclub in Rochester, from surrounding Kent
towns, under the brand Club and Bus ticket.
Harris Bus got into serious financial difficulties late in 1999, and went into receivership
in 2000. Its routes and garage were taken over by London Buses under the guise of East Thames Buses
, a subsidiary of London Transport itself rather than another private company. Harris's colourful, albeit latterly rather scruffy livery was sacrificed in favour of all-over red, with new tendering regulations requiring mainly red liveries for LT contracts coming into force later.
integral single-deck buses, and 35 East Lancs Pyoneer
-bodied Volvo Olympian
s. Services were supplemented by 5 Northern Counties Palatine
-bodied DAF DB250
double-deckers, and 2 East Lancs Spryte
-bodied Dennis Dart SLF single-deckers.
Harris Bus introduced a striking blue and lime green livery, contrasting its modern buses with the elderly red buses on some of London routes that they replaced, or bringing new colours to already changed routes. Buses were branded variously as Lewisham Link, Eltham Link, Ilford Link or Lakeside Link with route branding, incorporating Harris Bus fleetnames on the front.
West Thurrock
West Thurrock is a traditional Church of England parish and town in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross, London.-Location:...
. It was a subsidiary of Harris Coaches, and operated a small fleet of buses. On deregulation of bus services
Bus deregulation
Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...
it was one of the early operators of tendered services for London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
.
Harris Bus went into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
in 2000, with its London operations and assets transferred to East Thames Buses
East Thames Buses
East Thames Buses was the only government owned bus operator of London Buses. It was sold to London General in 2009.-History:East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failed Harris Bus Company...
.
Company history
Early Harris buses carried a blue and white livery for services in EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Harris also owned an ex-Southdown Queen Mary. In 1997 London route 108 was awarded from Kentish Bus to Harris Bus, a newcomer to London bus operations.
London bus services were initially operated from the firm's far-away base in West Thurrock
West Thurrock
West Thurrock is a traditional Church of England parish and town in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross, London.-Location:...
, although the subsequent win of routes 180 and 132 saw operation transferred to a new base in Belvedere london bus garage
Bus garages in London
Every garage operating services that form part of the London Bus network is given an official London Bus garage code. Such codes are given not only to garages running London Bus contracts, but also to those running commercial bus services under London Bus agreements. There is also a code for Tramlink...
, purchased in 1998.
Harris buses could also be seen on services to Lakeside Shopping Centre
Lakeside Shopping Centre
The Lakeside Shopping Centre is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, in the borough of Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London...
. Revenues were also boosted through employing the Pyoneer double-deckers to carry clubbers to and from Amadeus nightclub in Rochester, from surrounding Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
towns, under the brand Club and Bus ticket.
Harris Bus got into serious financial difficulties late in 1999, and went into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
in 2000. Its routes and garage were taken over by London Buses under the guise of East Thames Buses
East Thames Buses
East Thames Buses was the only government owned bus operator of London Buses. It was sold to London General in 2009.-History:East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failed Harris Bus Company...
, a subsidiary of London Transport itself rather than another private company. Harris's colourful, albeit latterly rather scruffy livery was sacrificed in favour of all-over red, with new tendering regulations requiring mainly red liveries for LT contracts coming into force later.
Fleet
For its London and other operations, from 1996 to 1998, Harris Bus purchased a modern fleet of 23 Optare ExcelOptare Excel
The Optare Excel is a low-floor full-size single-decker bus manufactured by Optare.Manufactured as an integral bus, the Excel was launched in 1995 as one of the first low-floor single-deck vehicles. The styling of the body was in keeping with existing Optare products, especially at the rear...
integral single-deck buses, and 35 East Lancs Pyoneer
East Lancs Pyoneer
The East Lancs Pyoneer is a type of double-decker bus body built on the Volvo Olympian, Dennis Arrow and Volvo B10M by East Lancashire Coachbuilders. The name continues the pattern of using 'misspelt' product names, started by the Cityzen.-History:...
-bodied Volvo Olympian
Volvo Olympian
The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo at Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian....
s. Services were supplemented by 5 Northern Counties Palatine
Northern Counties Palatine
The Northern Counties Palatine is a step-entrance double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK. It was built mainly on Leyland Olympian and Volvo Olympian chassis, although some were also built on DAF, Volvo B10M Citybus and Scania chassis...
-bodied DAF DB250
VDL DB250
The VDL DB250 is a double-decker bus sold in the UK through VDL Bus International's UK dealer Arriva Bus & Coach. A small number of DB250s have also been exported to Istanbul, Turkey.-DB250:...
double-deckers, and 2 East Lancs Spryte
East Lancs Spryte
The East Lancs Spryte is a single-decker bus body built by East Lancashire Coachbuilders. It was designed to body the Dennis Dart chassis, but a handful had been built on others, for example, the Volvo B6...
-bodied Dennis Dart SLF single-deckers.
Harris Bus introduced a striking blue and lime green livery, contrasting its modern buses with the elderly red buses on some of London routes that they replaced, or bringing new colours to already changed routes. Buses were branded variously as Lewisham Link, Eltham Link, Ilford Link or Lakeside Link with route branding, incorporating Harris Bus fleetnames on the front.
London routes
The following London bus routes had been operated by Harris bus:- 108London Buses route 108London Buses route 108 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.The 108 is considered to be one of London's most difficult routes to operate...
- 128
- 129
- 132London Buses route 132London Buses route 132 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:...
- 150
- 180
See also
- East Thames BusesEast Thames BusesEast Thames Buses was the only government owned bus operator of London Buses. It was sold to London General in 2009.-History:East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failed Harris Bus Company...
- List of bus routes in London
- List of bus operators of the United Kingdom