Founded | 1998 |
---|---|
Headquarters | South Mimms |
Service area | North London Hertfordshire Surrey |
Service type | Bus services |
Routes | 30 (April 2024) |
Depots | 2 |
Fleet | 111 (November 2020) |
Chief executive | Dean Sullivan |
Website | www.sullivanbuses.com |
Sullivan Bus & Coach Limited, [1] trading as Sullivan Buses, is a bus company based in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1998, it operates local bus services in and around Hertfordshire and north London including school services, rail replacement bus services in and near London, bus links in Surrey to and from Thorpe Park and vehicle hire for television programmes.
Sullivan Buses was founded in 1998 by former London Underground manager Dean Sullivan. [2] [3]
Sullivan Buses operates public and school bus routes in Hertfordshire and North London. Rail replacement work, particularly on the London Underground, is also operated. In 2004, this work contributed to two-thirds of the company's turnover of £3 million. [2] Sullivan Buses vehicles frequently appear in film and television broadcasts and advertisements, partially because of the company location's proximity to the Elstree Studios. By August 2007, 20 different buses had been used in over 30 productions. [4] [5]
In January 2005, Sullivan Buses purchased Southlands Travel, located at Pollhill in Kent, but this operation ceased in February 2007, with some of the routes passing to Griffin Bus, who operated initially from Pollhill before moving to Longfield. In May 2011 Griffin Bus ceased operations and their routes were transferred over to other operators.[ citation needed ]
Due to increased traffic congestion, Hertfordshire County Council-controlled route B3 was revised with additional running time and made significant changes to timings to meet train arrivals and departures from July 2012. [6] Starting from September 2012, Sullivan Buses won TfL tenders for school routes 628, 653, 683 and 688 from Arriva London. This came after the company also won the tender for route 298. [7]
Sullivan Buses won the TfL tender on route W9 and retained route 298 in 2016, both acquiring brand-new Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC buses as a result. [8]
From 1 September 2018, Sullivan Buses axed a section of commercial route 398 between Watford and Borehamwood. To minimise inconvenience, route 306 improved its evening frequencies to every 15 minutes. [9]
In May 2021, it was announced Sullivan Buses would take over the TfL tender for route 549 from 12 March 2022. [10]
In February 2022, Sullivan Buses announced the takeover of route 84 between Potters Bar and St Albans, following Metroline's decision to withdraw from the route. The effects took place on 2 April 2022. [11] [12]
As of January 2024, South Mimms garage operates routes 217, 298, 299, 327, 389, 399, 549, 605, 606, 617, 629, 640 and W9. [13] As of April 2024, it also operates 17 other routes either operated under contract to Hertfordshire County Council or commercially.
Sullivan Buses operate a maintenance facility based at North Mymms providing services to all of Sullivan's fleet. [14]
Sullivan operate a small garage based in Staines to maintain their Thorpe Park fleet. [14]
The fleet initially was built up with ex Transport for London Leyland Olympians, Leyland Titans, MCW Metrobuses and Volvo Olympians. As at November 2020, the fleet consisted of 111 buses, including an AEC Routemaster heritage vehicle and a driver training vehicle. [15] The fleet dedicated to Transport for London operations consisted of 74 buses as at March 2023. [16]
Borehamwood is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, 12 miles (19 km) from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known as Elstree Studios.
Hertsmere is a local government district with borough status in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other settlements in the borough include Bushey, Elstree, Radlett and Potters Bar. The borough contains several film studios, including Elstree Studios and the BBC Elstree Centre at Borehamwood. The borough borders Three Rivers, Watford, St Albans, and Welwyn Hatfield in Hertfordshire and the three north London boroughs of Harrow, Barnet and Enfield. Hertsmere is located mainly within the M25 Motorway.
Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company Limited, trading as Metrobus, is a bus operator with routes in parts of Surrey, Kent, Sussex, and Greater London. Formed through a management buyout in 1983, Metrobus was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in September 1999 and is now under the control of Brighton & Hove, part of the Go-Ahead Group.
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus services to TfL, controlled by the Mayor of London.
London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London, is a bus company operating in Greater London. The London General brand is a subsidiary of Go-Ahead London and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal operator of buses in London between 1855 and 1933.
Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva subsidiaries Grey-Green, Leaside Buses, Kentish Bus, London & Country and South London Transport. Operations are split between two registered companies, Arriva London North Limited and Arriva London South Limited.
Metroline is a bus company operating bus services in Greater London and Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro. It also operates bus services under contract to Transport for London.
RATP Dev Transit London Limited, trading as RATP Dev Transit London, is a bus company in North London. The London Sovereign brand is a subsidiary of RATP Dev Transit London and operates buses under contract to Transport for London.
First London was a bus company operating services in east, west and south-east London, England. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and operated buses under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in the late 1990s through the acquisition of three London bus operators. First London's garages were sold off between December 2007 and June 2013 with the last closing in September 2013.
Quality Line was a bus company based in Epsom, England. A subsidiary of the RATP Group, Quality Line operated bus services throughout the South West London and Surrey area, with many under contract to Transport for London. It ceased operations on 2 July 2021, with all remaining routes transferring to RATP's London United subsidiary.
Hertfordshire bus route 84 is a commercial bus service running in Hertfordshire. Running between St Albans and Potters Bar station, it is operated by Sullivan Buses.
London Buses route 29 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Trafalgar Square and Wood Green station, it is operated by Arriva London.
London Buses route 142 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London and Hertfordshire, England. Running between Watford Junction station and Brent Cross bus station, it is operated by Metroline.
London Buses route 271 was a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. It ran between Highgate Village and Finsbury Square, and was last operated by Metroline.
London Buses route 52 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Willesden bus garage and Victoria bus station, it is operated by Metroline.
London Buses route 394 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Homerton University Hospital and Islington, it is operated by Stagecoach London.
Transport UK London Bus, formerly Abellio London, is a bus company operating services in Greater London, England. A subsidiary of Transport UK Group, it operates services under contract to Transport for London.
London Traveller was a bus operator in London in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was partially owned by Yorkshire Traction, and was sold to Thorpes in October 2001.
London Buses route 324 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London and Hertfordshire, England. Running between Brent Cross and Elstree, it is operated by Metroline.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, also marketed as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200, is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014 as the successor to the Enviro200 midibus and Enviro300 full-size bus. The first Enviro200 MMCs entered service with National Express West Midlands in 2015. Notably, Enviro200 MMCs have been modified by Fusion Processing to be used as the basis for the first driverless bus trials in the United Kingdom.
Media related to Sullivan Buses at Wikimedia Commons