Last update
28th December 2011

The major "big group" operator in the town, and the dominant player, TGM Harlow as it's now known has it's roots in the old London Transport country bus network. Its' garage lies close to the town centre, and is one of only two original former London Country garages remaining operational. After being 'London Country North East', 'County Bus' was formed where Harlow was the head office. A short spell under West Midlands Travel ownership, then onto being part of the Cowie group, which transformed into Arriva. The most recent change is the transfer of responsibility for management of Harlow to TGM group in 2010, and introduction of the Network Harlow name for local services, the Arriva name remaining in use on publicity for out of town services.

The services page on this site gives details of the comprehensive route network which includes a mixture of both town and country routes. Most services are operated commercially, although the 392 and some evening journeys operate under contract to Essex County Council. Good efforts have always been made to market the network, although brand familiarity remains to be established firmly since the change to TGM and a fairly inconsistent image is now evident.

There remains a solid core of vehicles which have had Harlow as their home since new or for many years, although there is some fluidity almost each month. These changes, combined with the variety of vehicle types, provide for quite an interesting picture for the enthusiast. Although little could truly be considered a "strange visitor", admirably, some efforts are made with consistency of vehicle type allocation to particular routes (see table below).

A website with route diagrams and local timetable information is available at  www.harlowbus.com.

The fleet is detailed below. Please click on the thumbnail images for the full size view.

Fleet

FULL SIZE BUS FLEET

MINIBUS FLEET

ROUTE ALLOCATIONS

Optare Versa A surprising upgrade for the 59 in November 2008 brought 2 brand new vehicles to a service that was hitherto run using a pair of Solos that were just 4 years old. The arrival of this new class of vehicle meant that brand new fleet investment had taken place at Arriva for 5 consecutive years.
2406 2407	YJ58PFY YJ58PFZ		A little ghost-running preceded the introduction of the Versas at Harlow. Here 2407 waits in the bus station on test, whist the Solo immediately behind is the actual service bus. (R Hudson)
			Full route branding is carried on both sides of the vehicle, as illustrated by this off-side shot at the bus station. (R Hudson)
			And for completeness, the rear view. (R Hudson)

Mercedes Citaro A fleet of vehicles dedicated to Green Line 724, and which carry an appropriate livery. These vehicles were newly introduced in August 2006. A further additional vehicle was added in 2008, but two then departed in late 2011 after a slight reduction in requirements.
3901 3902 3903 3904 3905	BU06HSD BU06HSE BU06HSF BU06HSG BU06HSJ	3906 3907 3910	BU06HSK BU06HSL BK58URL
Two images taken during the first week of service, and showing all four aspects of the vehicles. (R Hudson)

Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse Urban Five years on from the purchase of the previous batch of new full size single deck vehicles in 1999 (see below), the Volvo/Wright combination features again. Both chassis and body have been updated, and LED displays now feature. The vehicles are dedicated to the 510, which was essentially converted to the type on 6th December 2004. Two further additions, to support a frequency increase on the 510, were added in late 2007. All carry full-sized rear adverts, typically for airlines, and which change on a reasonably regular basis.
3856 3857 3858 3859 3860 3873 3874	KE54LNR KE54LPC KE54LPF KE54LPJ KE54HHF KE57EPA KE57EPC		On its' first day in service, 3859 clearly illustrates the route branding and LED displays as it pulls into the stop at Old Harlow Post Office. (R Hudson)
			An interior shot shows the modern and bright travelling environment provided on these vehicles. High standards of interior cleaning and maintenance also enhance the experience (R Hudson)
			The rear adverts change reasonably regularly, a 2011 addition being the striking orange of easyjet on 3874. (R Hudson)

Volvo B6LE/Wright Crusader-2 For a number of years, the flagships of the local fleet were eight vehicles delivered new in 1999. Conventional front blinds are combined with (mainly) functioning dot matrix side and rear route number repeaters. 3252 suffered an engine fire whilst standing in on the 510 and was scrapped. As part of the 2010 Network Harlow launch, no less than six were painted light blue and branded for Staple Tye circulars 2 & 3, leaving just 3257 which has since received Network Harlow livery.
3250 3251 3253 3254 3255 3256 3257	V250HBH V251HBH V253HBH V254HBH V255HBH V256HBH V257HBH			The London region's largest collection of Volvo B6LE's with Wright Crusader II bodies are found in Harlow where they now number seven. 3257, carrying the original branding for town route 4, is seen on what was for many years it's regular haunt. (R Hudson)
				2010 saw most of the fleet repainted and redeployed onto town services 2&3. 3250 is seen in the light blue that was used for the 2 and 3 route branding exercise, but now with Network Harlow insignia applied. (R Hudson)

Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer II Two brand new vehicles (3230/1) entered service on 5th February 2000, and were the normal allocation for town route route 10 since its inception until relatively recently. Route branding for the service was carried by both vehicles, and wanderings elsewhere were rare. Clicking on the full size image will reveal advertising for this site. It took another 8 years before a similar vehicle joined the fleet when slightly older 3190, an early example of the type, transferred in, but it didn't stay long, being replaced shortly after by November 2009 addition, 3229, which has endured. Five more from a former London batch, S301-5JUA appeared, with 302/3 (since departed) in route 4 branded lime green, and the others in route 10 yellow, since replaced. 3229 and 3230 were the first of the type at Harlow to carry inter-urban livery. 401/4/5 have recently gained Network Harlow Harlow two-tone blue, which has a resemblance to the livery of former competitor Excel, that was absorbed into the TGM group. Loans from TGM Stansted and Colchester come and go. KU52RXT (all white) and SN54HXC (TGM standard colours) are  operating at present, and may well be loans.
3229 3230 3231 401 404 405 551 .	T829NMJ V230HBH V231HBH S301JUA S304JUA S305JUA KU52RXT SN54HXC		Route branding for Metro 10 was carried by Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointers 3230 and 3231. (R Hudson).
			The new Network Harlow colours enhance these vehicles, and should provide a good contrast with other operators liveries when more of the fleet are completed, and a fleet name is applied. (R Hudson).
			The out of town services remain in the hands of the Arriva brand, at least for now anyway. The new inter-urban livery has started to appear, as on 3229 here on the then daily 501. (R Hudson).

 
Minibus Fleet

Optare Solo It's taken from the very earliest intake until November 2009 for Harlow to have a fully standard minibus, but the Optare Solo has at last conquered all. A number of batches have entered service progressively since June 2004, and there is variety in vehicle length. Town presence is mainly on the 5, 6, and 8, and also on evening services. Out of town, Loughton area services 541/2/3 are also from HA with Solos. A reduction in the number of Solos in the fleet took place with the transfer of the 251 (and 250) to Ware in September 2009. In May 2011 the first two vehicles received Network Harlow livery, a third has followed.
2453 2454 2455 2456 2457 2458 2459 2460 2465 2466 2467 2473 2474	YJ06FXS YJ06FXT YJ06FXU YJ06FXV KE04PZF KE04PZG KE54OSU KE54OSV KE55KTJ KE55KTD KE55KTC YJ56ATY YJ56ATZ		Fresh into service, 2459 illustrates the then new order on the 59, including a limited amount of route branding.   (R Hudson) 2455 was the first Solo to receive Network Harlow livery, as it was the first and only Solo at Harlow to receive inter-urban livery. It is seen here on the 6. 2459 and 2460 have followed suit. (R Hudson)

Routes

Please note that this is an unofficial site, and whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information is accurate and up to date, no claims can be entertained for losses caused by any errors or omissions here, or through any shortcomings on the part of the operators themselves. We would be grateful if any errors could be notified to us, in order that we can make a prompt correction. Any suggestions, comments or other forms of feedback are most welcome by e-mail. This site acknowledges the support provided by local operators, but is not directly linked with any operator.

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