London''s Metrobuses

The Metrobus was the first bus to be built and designed in its entirety by Metro Cammel Weymann (MCW). West Midlands PTE and London Transport were the biggest customers of the MCW Metrobus. The first five trial Metrobuses entered service with London Transport during 1978 and 1979. In 1979 and 1980, many Metrobuses began operating in north-west and south-west London and, towards the end of 1980, the type was put on the Airbus services linking central London with Heathrow Airport. In 1982, the Metrobus Mark II was launched, with changed styling at the front, and London Transport ordered two of these. A further twenty-eight were purchased by London Buses Limited in 1987 but withdrawn in 1991. In between nine second-hand Metrobuses were purchased from Greater Manchester Buses, with another five from Busways. By this time, 1,485 MCW Metrobuses were operating in London. Those purchased by London Transport passed to private operators in 1994, operating until the new millennium. Other Metrobuses were acquired by tour operators in the capital and converted to open-top layout.

David Beddall offers a fascinating snapshot of the Metrobus while in service in London, both on London Regional and Transport for London services, as well as those examples that saw further service in the capital as sightseeing buses.