Fleet news
10 fleet news items found.
Posted on Friday 21st March 2025
Most notable amongst recently reported fleet additions are no fewer than 8 Renault Kangoo electric crew vans at the Elizabeth Line depot in Plumstead, where they appear to have replaced most of the VW Caddy Maxi crew vans. The new vans are in the plain TfL white and are numbered in the range 9442R to 9455R. This suggests the batch is multi-user, as 9444R, 9453R and 9457R have been seen working for LBSL. There are also reported to be a couple of TfL Kangoos with London Overground at Silwood Triangle, the identities for which are not yet available.
Posted on
Sunday 2nd March 2025
More TfL Renault Kangoos have been noted recently. The short-wheelbase diesel vans are numbered in the range 9399R to 9437R, with 20 reported (plus 2 for which fleetnumbers were not obtained). These have been followed by a batch of long-wheelbase electric crew vans, with just 4 seen so far, numbered between 9439R and 9457R. One each has been noted at Blackwall (Naval Row) and Acton Works, with 2 at Eltham Bus Station, although it is not entirely clear who the user of these is. Of the Eltham vans, one featured yellow safety stripes along the sides and red/yellow chevrons on the rear, while the other lacked the stripes and had a plain white rear.
9444R at Eltham showing the extra livery adornments.
Talking of safety stripes, these have also been noted on a few other vehicles, including a new diesel Kangoo, one of the Ford Transit Connect vans delivered last year and, surprisingly, on an LUL-liveried Ford Transit Custom crew van.
LUL Ford van 8848F has gained yellow stripes as an addition to full LUL livery.
It is not yet clear if the yellow stripes are to become a standard livery feature, or only applied for particular roles. Reports of any sightings would be welcomed. I have not yet decided if this detail should be included in the liveries recorded on the LTSV database, but I have started producing icons to allow it to be shown there (see today's Site News).
Ahead of producing a new SUP24 booklet for LOTS, I have been trying to track vehicles that have left the fleet recently, making use of license and V5C data from the DVLA. This is not foolproof however, as a vehicle can be delicensed and/or have a new V5C but still be in the fleet. Departures have included yet more cars, including the last 2 Ford Mondeos. There are now fewer than 30 cars in the central fleet (down from about 120 a year ago), although I suspect that the actual total will be even less. Some cars are certainly out of use (though still 'in stock'), while others have not been seen for years and may well have already gone.
There is not much to report from the bus company fleets. The nine (or so) anonymous white Nissan NV250 vans with HG21xxx registrations that had been used by Go-Ahead London have all been marked as withdrawn, since none have been reported for a couple of months. There are also now (thankfully) fewer anonymous hired crew ferry cars at Arriva London's Dartford garage, following the loss of 3 bus routes on re-tendering recently. The big news however is that the sale of RATP-Dev's London bus operations to First was completed on the last day of February. London United, London Sovereign, and London Transit are all now part of First Bus London, although it is not yet known whether the subsidiary company names are being retained or changed. Also unknown is whether First will implement a fleet renumbering, although this would seem likely.
Posted on Thursday 12th December 2024
The monopoly on new deliveries by Ford Transit Connects was finally broken when 11 Renault Kangoo vans were delivered to Acton Works last week. This is a bit strange as the Kangoo is broadly similar to the Transit Connect in size and capacity. I had expected any variety to be in the form of larger vans, minibuses or dropsides. Still, it is at least some variety. The new vans are in the same all white with blue TfL markings, and they were numbered in the range 9399R to 9437R, suggesting a batch of at least 40 is on the way. It is too early to say where they are going to be allocated but a reporter passing the lorry yard today noted that most of the Kangoos had already departed, and in their place were a variety of LUL and TfL cars, perhaps having been replaced.
We are not yet done with the Transit Connects though. There are now 172 in the database, for which fleetnumbers are not known for 20. The known number range is from 9169F to 9396F, and I suspect that this entire run of 228 vehicles will indeed be Transit Connects. A correspondent has identified about 50 additional registration marks which could well be TfL vehicles. We just need somebody to see (and report) them all, which might take some time. Having said all that, a couple of 24-reg Transit Connects were seen at Acton Works in late November. They were in the normal registration series but were unmarked, and it appears that they had only just been delivered, despite having been registered 7 months earlier. By the following week, the two vans had gained TfL markings, and they were numbered as 9247F and 9459F, the latter number being well after the block of Renault Kangoos.
Posted on Sunday 3rd November 2024
Deliveries of new vehicles for TfL have continued, now into 74 registrations but still only featuring various types of Ford Transit Connect vans. A total of 151 have been reported, and it is highly probable that there are some others that we have missed. The newest arrivals have pushed the fleetnumbers up to 9395F, meaning that the range now covers 227 numbers (9169F to 9395F). However, they are not arriving in numerical order, so some of the missing 76 vehicles may not yet have been delivered. Of the 151 known vehicles, 106 are crew vans (all but one being of the longer variety), while the 45 vans are split almost equally between the two lengths available.
Posted on Friday 27th September 2024
The number of TfL livery Ford Transit Connects has continued to rise. We haven't caught any bulk deliveries to Acton Works recently but examples have been seen 'out in the wild', with the total now up to 124. On top of that, about 40 related registration numbers have been identified that are potentially additional examples, though it is possible some went to other customers. Moreover, the fleet numbers on the vans cover a range of 211 (from 9169F to 9379F), with lots of gaps. Some of these gaps will presumably be filled in due course by other types of vehicle.
Not previously mentioned is that at least one of these new vans has had a change of identity. LJ24YJV was licensed at the end of March but appears to have only been delivered to Acton in August, at which point it was numbered 9372F. After a couple of weeks, it was still at Acton but it had been given a replacement number of 9251F. I hope that this was a one-off case, either due to an admin error or a change of plan. However, there is a risk that some of the other vans that were noted at Acton when newly delivered are now in service with different numbers. Can I ask observers to try and note both the reg and fleetnumber if possible.
Apart from these, other recent additions have mainly been second-hand cars for Transport UK. Many have been noted carrying 4-digit fleet numbers, though there are lots of gaps. There is also an issue that they are about to run out of numbers. Recently reported was Vauxhall Astra 6897 (with the interesting registration of ASZ5553), but numbers from 6900 to 6911 are allocated to various vans. Will cars skip to 7001? Or perhaps start back from 6501? Well, I won't know unless/until somebody sees it and tells me.
Posted on Saturday 3rd August 2024
New Ford Transit Connects in TfL white ivery have continued to flood in, with a total of 106 now reported. The vast majority are long-wheelbase crew vans, but there are also a dozen LWB vans and (so far) just one SWB van (9250F). Fleetnumbers are spread across the range 9169F to 9379F, and I am beginning to think that this is the only type that has been ordered so far. This could mean there are still 105 yet to be reported or delivered.
The only other central-fleet addition is a bit of a mystery. Renault Kangoo van MW24VRU was seen at Newbury Park Station and was white with LUL roundels on front and sides and TfL lettering on the sides. No fleetnumber was carried but this looks to be a long-term addition. What is not clear is why this got LUL livery when TfL-only seems to be the new standard. The Renault Kangoo model was updated a couple of years ago and this is the first example reported as a service vehicle.
A newish (73-reg) Vauxhall Combo van was found at Arriva London's Grays garage. This is a 'stealth' SV, in that it has white Arriva lettering on its white bodywork! Not yet added to the database is HK24KZS, an unmarked red Seat Ibiza car seen at Dartford garage. If anyone sees this in use as a crew ferry, please let me know.
Metroline has been receiving new vans again, two of which were Ford Transit Courier Mk2 vans. This new model is markedly different from the original Courier, which was visually similar to the Ford Fiesta car. The new version has a more pronounced bonnet. Also at Metroline, two Ford vans were noted recently that have perhaps been operated since new a few years ago. Quite how AX68UYA and AY71JKK avoided being seen until now is a mystery.
Transport UK has added several more second-cars of various makes, replacing the once-standard Ford Fiesta. A growing number also have Transport UK fleetnames and numbers in the 68xx range.
Posted on Friday 19th July 2024
Lots more TfL Ford Transit Connect vans have been found this week, bringing the total up to at least 88. Fleetnumber-registration tie-ups are missing for a few so please get in touch if you can help.
Posted on Sunday 7th July 2024
The number of TfL Ford Transit Connect vans delivered over the past couple months has risen to at least 54, and there are probably some we have missed. Fleet numbers are spread across a wide range (9189F to 9379F) and it is presumed (hoped!) that some of the other numbers will be used on vehicles of other types.
Posted on Sunday 26th May 2024
Deliveries of new Ford Transit Connect vans in TfL white livery have continued. Ten more arrived this week (photos to follow), meaning that at least 37 have been delivered over the past two months. The fleet numbers on the latest batch are interesting, being spread across a wide range from 9272F to 9376F. This suggests that a large quantity of vehicles are on order.
Transport UK has been adding a variety of second-hand cars for use as crew ferries, moving away from the standardised fleet of mainly Ford Fiestas used by Abellio. The examples added today include three makes not previously featured in the LTSV database (Alfa Romeo, Mazda and Ssongyang), while I have also updated the operator name (from Abellio to Transport UK) for all the older vehicles that have been noted still in use since March. This has left 18 vehicles that are still listed as Abellio, none of which have been reported recently. Any sightings of these vehicles would be welcomed.
Two more of Metroline's Ford Puma cars have gained advert liveries, formed of all-over vinyl wraps with graphics and lettering for bus driver recruitment. AY23KUE has a yellow base while AY23KWO is green (photos to follow). All three examples (including AY23KVM in light blue) are working from Brentford, while the Pumas at other locations appear to still be in unmarked red.
Posted on Sunday 28th April 2024
Fleetnumbers for central fleet vehicles are romping ahead. Four new Ford Transit Connect vans seen at Acton Works recently carried 9254F to 9257F, these being more than 30 higher than the batch of Connect crew vans delivered over Easter. So presumably lots more vehicles have been ordered. The four new vans (plus one further crew van numbered 9216F) all have the basic TfL white livery. Taking the places in the Acton lorry yard recently occupied by new Ford vans have been a variety of older LUL vehicles, such as Renault Kangoo Maxi vans 8357R, 8358R, 8360R, 8365R, 8367R, 8369R and 8372R. This would suggest that the new TfL Fords are indeed for LUL use, backed-up by the fact that examples have been noted at Frank Pick House and at Stratford Market Depot.
Site news26 site news items found.
Posted on Friday 21st March 2025
The vehicle database has been brought up to date with recent additions and withdrawals, and I have also changed the operator details on those vehicles believed to have passed from RATP Dev to First Bus London at the end of February.
A new edition of LOTS' SUP24 booklet (listing all known current service vehicles) is available now. SUP24K is priced at £6.00 and will be available from the LOTS stand at events at Detling and Brooklands in April. It is interesting to reflect that it is now 20 years since my first LOTS publication was launched, SUP15B listing all London Transport service vehicles up to 2005. A lot has been learned since, both in terms of new vehicles and in improved information on historical ones, but a new edition of SUP15 is unlikely, given the cost of printing what would probably be a 200+ page book. LOTS do still have a few copies of SUP15B available for £7.50, suggesting that they slightly over-ordered! However, I am told that they do still sell a copy every now and then....
Posted on
Sunday 2nd March 2025
More new icons have been added to cover the recent TfL Renault Kangoo vans, in both lengths and with or without the yellow waist stripe.
Posted on
Sunday 16th February 2025
95 new photos addedI've been busy with LOTS work lately but I have also managed to catch up with the filing of received photos. As a result, a batch of 95 photos has just been uploaded. Most were taken between December 2024 and February 2025 apart from a few stragglers from last summer. Click on the Photos button above (or
here) to view them all. By the way, there are over 8,000 photos on LTSV but my collection of filed photos has now passed the 30,000 mark.
Posted on
Tuesday 28th January 2025
16 new photos publishedI haven't managed to do any filing of newly received photos this month, although I have received quite a lot. As such, I cannot add any new photos yet. Instead, here is a bit of a miscellany!
First up are ten more vintage photos from the Michael Clark collection. Actually there are 13, but three pairs of 'portrait' photos have been joined, so as to suit my normal 'landscape' format.
Next up are some sample pages from a major new book about service vehicles, with text to form a review of sorts.
Finally there are 4 photos of a previously unknown model service vehicle which I bought at the weekend.
Posted on Friday 17th January 2025
The vehicle database has been brought up to date.
Posted on
Monday 30th December 2024
I have just added two downloadable PDF documents containing photos 7001 to 7500 and 7501 to 8001 (originally published between November 2021 and December 2024). Links to the files can be found on the
Downloadable LTSV Documents index page.
Posted on
Sunday 15th December 2024
60 new photos publishedWith a break in my LOTS work, I have made a concerted effort to catch up with photographs. I brought the filing up to date, adding the 13 photos from July/August that had been overlooked and 146 more received since late October. I then shortlisted a batch for publishing, although the list was perhaps more of a 'longlist', as it contained 60. Finally I wrote all the captions. This actually took less time than I had thought, hence the photos just added have actually been dated for publication tomorrow! Now, can I be bothered to do anything yet with the 19 further photos that came in yesterday?!
While filing, I was reminded that there have been some old gems sitting in my 'pending' folder for ages. So, I have started today's batch with 4 of these, including this view of Tomato Soup van 1895F when nearly new.
LTSV crosses the 'pond', with 4 photos taken recently of transport service vehicles in New York.
Developments with the central fleet are covered, including lots more new Transit Connects. For a bit of variety, we now also have Renault Kangoos coming in TfL white livery.
Two landmarks may be worth mentioning. There are now over 8000 main photos on LTSV. This means that it is time for me to make up a PDF of photos 7501-8000 to enable the content to be 'preserved'. Actually I will also need to do 7001-7500, as I seem to have overlooked them. These will probably be done over the Xmas break. Secondly, the number of SV photos in my collection is now very close to 30,000, and will exceed that once I have finished cataloguing the ones from Michael Clark's collection. My PC also contains several hundred SV photos which have not been filed for one reason or another, plus many thousands of photos of trains, railway company road vehicles and other assorted miscellany. When told, the jury were visibly shocked...
Posted on Thursday 12th December 2024
Having updated the vehicle database a few days ago, I was going to make a start on a new batch of photos. However, I soon discovered that there was an issue with my "foolproof" e-mail filing system. Quite a few photos sent over the summer had not been filed correctly, and hence were not included in those published. My apologies to the photographers affected. I am now going back through a large number of e-mails to try and straighten things out, after which there may be a bit of back-tracking with new photos, date-wise.
Posted on
Friday 22nd November 2024
Taking another break from contemporary photos, I have just added 10 photos that were latterly in the collection of Michael Clark, the head of LT's Central Distribution Services department from 1977 until 1993. Six albums of photos were kindly donated by the staff at Acton Works recently. I will be adding many of the photos to LTSV over time, but you can also download the complete albums (see the bottom of
this page).
Unsurprisingly, many of the photos are posed, as with this one of Master Breakdown Tender 111J when new.
There are also lots of detail and interior views, such as these of Works Ambulance 976B.
Posted on Saturday 9th November 2024
The 10 further TfL vans have just been added to the database, along with a couple of withdrawals. Note that one of the additions is a crew van numbered 9260F (LJ24YLT). We had previously shown van LJ24YKG at Stratford Market Depot as being 9260F but this is now thought to be incorrect.
Posted on
Friday 8th November 2024
I have added icons to cover the new TfL Ford Transit Connect vans, though it will take me a while to update all 150-odd records!
Update: The new icons have now been applied to all 151 relevant database records. Having said that, a further 10 new vans were reported yesterday. These will be added to the database tomorrow...
Posted on Sunday 3rd November 2024
The vehicle database has been updated again, most of the news being about new TfL Ford vans.
Posted on Thursday 24th October 2024
I was part-way through doing a database update but I decided to pause this to focus on doing some new photos. A total of 50 pictures has just been uploaded, taken between mid-July and late-August. September and October photos will follow soon, as will the second half of the data update. UPDATE: The database update has now been completed.
Posted on Monday 30th September 2024
...or maybe it will be this month! A batch of 17 photos has just been uploaded. I had actually started work on these during August, and they cover the first two weeks of July. My plan to catch-up with photos with more regular updates fell by the wayside due to my distraction by several new projects (about which more anon). On the other hand, let's try that with a more positive spin. Now that we are heading into the gloom of October, here is a bunch of photos to remind you of warmer times!
Posted on Friday 27th September 2024
The vehicle database has been brought up to date. Sadly I have not had time to add any photos recently so there will have to be a big catch-up next month.
Posted on Tuesday 20th August 2024
The database has been updated with changes reported over the past week, including 35 new additions. The latter are split between more new Ford Transit Connects for TfL (now with 118 reported) and lots of second-hand cars for Transport UK. There have also been a few more new vans for Metroline, and at least five Hyundai cars with Arriva Southern Counties at Northfleet.
Posted on Sunday 11th August 2024
The catch-up continues. A batch of 14 photos has just been uploaded, covering most of June 2024. There are quite a lot of July photos that I want to show and I will get on with those shortly.
Posted on Sunday 4th August 2024
Another 14 photos have been added. Half are stragglers from earlier this year, the other half were taken around the end of May or beginning of June. More soon...
Posted on Saturday 3rd August 2024
I had hoped to be able to do a fleet news update with illustrations, but I am still some way off catching up with the backlog of photos. So, I have posted the text covering some interesting recent events, and the photos can be added later when they are available.
Posted on Sunday 28th July 2024
I have prioritised another batch of catch-up photos today, so the Fleet News update has been deferred. The 16 photos just added were taken between mid- and late-May 2024.
Posted on Saturday 27th July 2024
A further 15 vehicles have been added to the database, some of which are rather interesting. I'll add some Fleet News about these soon but first I really must get some sleeeeeeeee......
Posted on Sunday 21st July 2024
The backlog of photos for LTSV is becoming rather large so I had better make a start. The photos are coming out in date order so this first batch of 12 covers the period from late-April to mid-May.
Posted on Friday 19th July 2024
The vehicle database has been updated with no fewer than 50 additions and a number of edits. Photos are still on my to-do list.
Posted on Sunday 7th July 2024
The vehicle database has been brought up to date. Photos will be worked on next.
Posted on Friday 31st May 2024
Time to catch up with photographs. The first batch of 30 covers events this year up to late-April. A second set to bring things up to date will be uploaded in the next week or so.
Posted on Sunday 26th May 2024
The database has been brought up to date with the latest additions, withdrawals and other changes. A new batch of photos will follow shortly.