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Metrobus〔(Companies House extract company no 1742404 ) Metrobus Limited〕 is a bus operator with routes in south London, and parts of Surrey, Kent, West and East 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. ==History== 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.〔(Companies House extract company no 1567824 ) 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. In 1986 route 355 was discontinued for short journeys between Croydon and Forestdale, and the 354 frequency increased and rerouted via Selsdon Vale (although the residents of the area refused to allow LT to put fixed bus stops in place). The route was also curtailed at Selsdon, although it was extended back to East Croydon the next year. In 1995 route 357 was withdrawn after routes 353 and 354 were retimetabled. Two coach operators, Southland Travel and RB Coaches, were taken over by Metrobus in October 1991 along with the ten vehicles originally owned by the companies. These coaches were used on the already existing private hire business, and to operate scheduled day trips to European destinations. In 2005, Southland Travel was purchased by Sullivan Buses, along with Polhill Garage. The business was later resold to its management.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Sullivan Buses - Enthusiasts )〕 In the summers of 1994 and 1995, Metrobus operated their 'Wealdsman' service (numbered 746) to complement the Surrey Hills weekend leisure bus network. Metrobus used a specially painted blue and yellow AEC Regal IV (RF-class) vehicle, on loan from the Wealdsman Preservation Group, for the long service between Bromley and Tunbridge Wells, connecting with other leisure services (London & Country Routemaster service 410 to Box Hill) at Westerham. Throughout the late 1990s, Metrobus introduced other commercial routes operated under Section 3(2) of the London Regional Transport Act 1984 (later to become London Local Service Agreements), including the 351, 356 and 358. All such routes were later transferred to Transport for London in mid-2002, although the 358 still remains tendered to Metrobus as of 2012.〔(Bus tender results Route 358 ) Transport for London 20 December 2007〕 In September 1999, Metrobus was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Business Case Study - Go-Ahead - Deregulation )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Go-Ahead - Metrobus )〕〔(Go-Ahead Annual Report 1 July 2000 ) Go-Ahead Group plc〕 Routes 353 and 354 were altered due to the opening of Croydon Tramlink on 20 May 2000. Both routes were transferred to standard TfL contract; the 353 was withdrawn between Addington Village and Croydon, and the 354 (renumbered T33 to reflect its new status as a Tramlink 'feeder' route) was withdrawn between Addington and Bromley. Metrobus is the operator of the Fastway guided bus network in Gatwick and Crawley which opened in September 2003 in order to reduce congestion on the roads around Crawley by encouraging people to take the bus instead of using their cars.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=About Fastway - Frequently Asked Questions )〕 On 8 December 2007, Metrobus took over the operations of First London's Orpington garage. All the staff and 35 vehicles were included, although the garage itself was closed, with the 'R' prefix routes transferring to the Orpington garage, and the T32 going to Croydon.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=TUPE Transfer and future of Orpington Bus Garage )〕 Routes 526/527 were lost in a Surrey County Council contract to Southdown PSV in January 2008 although regained in September 2012, and Route 100 (Maidenbower - Redhill) became part of the Fastway Network in Spring 2008. In September 2009 it was announced that from 3 October 2009, Metrobus would take over Arriva Guildford & West Surrey's Horsham operations, including Horsham town routes, route 93 (Dorking - Horsham) and London Buses route 465 (Dorking - Kingston). Metrobus purchased 19 buses as part of the sale and moved operations away from Arriva's site at Warnham to their existing depot in Crawley. On 1 April 2014, Go-Ahead restructured the business with the management of the Transport for London contracted services passing to the control of Go-Ahead London, with the remaining services administered by Brighton & Hove from 1 July 2014. Both continue to trade under the Metrobus brand.〔(Go-Ahead London welcomes Metrobus garages into fold ) ''Bus Talk'' (Go-Ahead London) issue 27 April 2014〕〔"Metrobus within Go-Ahead London" ''The London Bus'' (London Omnibus Traction Society) issue 598 June 2014 page 7〕〔"Go-Ahead London" ''Buses'' issue 713 August 2014 page 71〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Metrobus (South East England)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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