Metrobus (South East England)
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| Parent | Go-Ahead Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 1983 |
| Headquarters | Crawley |
| Locale |
East Surrey West Sussex North-west Kent |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Routes | 65 |
| Hubs | Crawley |
| Fleet | 158 (February 2016) |
| Website | www.metrobus.co.uk |
Metrobus is a bus operator with routes in south London, and parts of Surrey, Kent & Sussex. Formed through a management buyout in 1983, Metrobus was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in September 1999.
Metrobus previously operated many routes under contract to Transport for London in south and south-east London, but following a restructure, on 1 April 2014 these were transferred to Go-Ahead London. The remaining operations were brought under the control of Brighton & Hove on 1 July 2014.
In February 1981 the Orpington & District bus company collapsed due to financial difficulties, and the Tillingbourne Bus Company based in West Surrey took over their operations, setting up Tillingbourne (Metropolitan) Limited. In July 1983, Metrobus Limited was formed when two directors, Gary Wood and Peter Larking, purchased the subsidiary.
The newly formed company acquired the former Orpington & District garage at Green Street Green, Orpington, along with six employees and six vehicles. Three routes were operated by Metrobus at the time it was set up: 353 (Croydon to Orpington via Coombe Road, weekday peak hours only), 355 (Croydon to Forestdale, weekday peak hours only) and 357 (Croydon to Orpington via Forestdale, Monday-Saturday, all day).
In May 1982 a 'shopper bus' service was introduced, running from Sanderstead to Bromley town centre via New Addington. In keeping with the route numbers of the former Tillingbourne services, this route was numbered 354. In October 1983 the 354 was rerouted to cut out New Addington and extend the route to Croydon. Due to requests from residents, the route also began to serve Bourne Vale, which was some distance from other bus services.
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