< View previous picture - View next picture > Photographer / Copyright Ray Monk Images should not be reused without permission. View vehicle details 8080 * RK68GVT Location Link/s Eltham Bus Station Date added to site 26/10/2018 Printer-friendly version of this page

Details: I was just rambling about some of the lengthy crew ferry runs around London and then this picture comes up next. It shows a brand-new, anonymous red Mercedes-Benz Vito minibus parked at Eltham Bus Station on 1st October 2018. It is no doubt operated by Go-Ahead London, most likely from their Orpington Garage. Orpington-based crew ferries have been a common sight here for many years, and I have published dozens of photos of them, both under Metrobus and Go-Ahead London. However, it has never occurred to me that it is quite a distance between the two locations. 8.1 miles in fact. The situation is not as perverse as the 340 though, since Eltham is not exactly handy for any bus garage. Several are nearer than Orpington (including Stagecoach's Plumstead and Catford and Go-Ahead's Morden Wharf and Bexleyheath, all of which also have routes passing here) but not by a huge margin. However, both the bus routes operated by Orpington from Eltham pass points closer to the garage, the 162 at Chislehurst and the 233 at Sidcup. In fact, both routes end at points that are closer to Orpington (the 162 at Beckenham Junction and the 233 at Swanley). Can someone explain the logic here please?

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