London Bus Classification Codes

[heart-of-wessex]

Hello all,

Is there an up to date list of London Bus classification codes around?

I've found this https://circleoflondon.blogspot.com/p/london-bus-classification-codes.html?m=1 but is outdated with old types (VLA's etc) and operators that have long gone, some on there are still around but a lot if newer ones missing

Most are easy to work out anyway like HV - Hybrid Volvo, EH -  Enviro  Hybrid etc, but there's some im trying to work out like Go-Aheads E200 / E200EV's codes SE, SEe, SEN, I get the lower case is electric and the big E is Enviro, but not sure on N, nor what even the S is, if anything?

Shall I start a list with what I know and we can fill in the gaps on ones I don't know to create some sort of list?

Even the tour operator ones have codes I'm not sure if they translate to anything like TOOTbus 'VXE' and Big Bus 'DA'

 

[Grahamk748]

I think DA stands for Disabled access, everything else in the Big Bus fleet was step entrance when the DAs first arrived.
VXE I think is Volvo Xetended East Lancs being the longer version of the VLE Volvo East Lancs Visioniair despite the VXE being Optares but still the same body style.

The Go ahead ones are SE single deck Enviro, the N was originally for novated, the vehicles brought with the ex First operations but I was also used for other second hand vehicles so could also be non standard to the Go Ahead fleet?

 

[dodecahedron67]

I think DA stands for Disabled access, everything else in the Big Bus fleet was step entrance when the DAs first arrived.
VXE I think is Volvo Xetended East Lancs being the longer version of the VLE Volvo East Lance Visioniair despite the VXE being Optares but still the same body style.

The Go ahead ones are SE single deck Enviro, the N was originally for notated, the vehicles brought with the ex First operations but I was also used for other second hand vehicles so could also be non standard to the Go Ahead fleet?

From my old stomping ground:

Go-Ahead
E: double deck Enviro 400
SE: Single deck Enviro 200
EH: Enviro Hybrid (Integral)
EN: Enviro Non-native (Purchased from other ops, fx. First London/Abellio)
SEN: Single deck Enviro Non-native
EP: Electric Pantograph (ADL/BYD electrics with pantograph charging)
Ee: double deck Enviro electric
SEe: Single deck Enviro electric
EHV: Enviro Hybrid Volvo B5LH
WVL: Wright Volvo (Gemini BnTL, n= 7, 9, 5)
WVN: Wright Volvo (Non-native)
(PVL: Plaxton Volvo B7TL)
MEC: Mercedes Citaro
(MAL: Mercedes Articulated)
MHV: MCV Hybrid Volvo B5LH
Me: Optare/Switch Metrodecker Electric
OM: Optare Metrocity (diesel)
WS: Wright Streetlite
WSD: Wright StreetDeck


Stagecoach fits in the national numbering scheme;
1xxxx double deckers
3xxxx minibus single decks (E200s)
6xxxx electric singles
8xxxx electric doubles

 

[heart-of-wessex]

Thank you!! Ahhh 'S' for Single...didn't even cross my mind, I was overthinking it obviously as I was like 'South' maybe or 'Short'!

So using my London guide book will try a definitive list but will need gaps filling in, excluding NRM's as it's just LT (or ST for the Short one that I haven't seen myself for a long time):

ABELLIO:

Own numbering system 4 digits

ARRIVA:

DW - DAF Wrights
EA - Enviro (ADL??)
EMC - E Optare MetroCity
EMN - E MetroCity N
EN - Enviro
ENN - Enviro (Non-native??)
ENL - Enviro Long
ENR - Enviro (Regular?)
ENS - Enviro Short
ENX - Enviro Xtralong
ES - Electroliner StreetDeck
HA - Hybrid (ADL??)
HT - Hybrid (T??)
HV - Hybrid Volvo
SL - StreetLite
SW - Street Wright? (Or StreetWreck!)
T - Trident

BIG BUS LONDON:

DA - Disabled Access
AN - Anhui Ankai

I'll add more soon

 

[dodecahedron67]

Thank you!! Ahhh 'S' for Single...didn't even cross my mind, I was overthinking it obviously as I was like 'South' maybe or 'Short'!

So using my London guide book will try a definitive list but will need gaps filling in, excluding NRM's as it's just LT (or ST for the Short one that I haven't seen myself for a long time):

ABELLIO:

Own numbering system 4 digits

ARRIVA:

DW - DAF Wrights
EA - Enviro (ADL??)
EMC - E Optare MetroCity
EMN - E MetroCity N
EN - Enviro
ENN - Enviro (Non-native??)
ENL - Enviro Long
ENR - Enviro (Regular?)
ENS - Enviro Short
ENX - Enviro Xtralong
ES - Electroliner StreetDeck
HA - Hybrid (ADL??)
HT - Hybrid (T??)
HV - Hybrid Volvo
SL - StreetLite
SW - Street Wright? (Or StreetWreck!)
T - Trident

BIG BUS LONDON:

DA - Disabled Access
AN - Anhui Ankai

I'll add more soon

EA for arriva is Electric Alexander Dennis, HA the same but Hybrid instead of Electric

HT for Hybrid Trident (integral ADL microhybrid E40Ds, built on Trident chassis)

 

[Mark L]

I have a feeling that the L in Go-Ahead London’s WVL denotes “low floor” - it originated at a time when such beasts were still novel. At the time we also had PDL (a Plaxton President bodied Dennis Trident) and EVL (an East Lancs bodied Volvo B7TL) and PVL (a Plaxton bodied B7.

I have a feeling that the L in Go-Ahead London’s WVL denotes “low floor” - it originated at a time when such beasts were still novel. At the time we also had PDL (a Plaxton President bodied Dennis Trident) and EVL (an East Lancs bodied Volvo B7TL) and PVL (a Plaxton bodied B7.

..and a lone WDL, a Wrightbus bodied VDL DB300 (which was clearly still regarded as a DAF).

 

[Mikey C]

Metroline kept the "T" part of Trident codes for Enviro 400s, e.g.

TP - Trident Plaxton President
TAL - Trident Alexander Long
TE - Enviro 400

 

[DGP]

I remember Peter Hendy talking at a LOTS meeting about vehicle codes and pointing out that they are just that - codes, they don't have to stand for anything and we shouldn't try to ascribe a meaning to them. Of course, he was addressing a meeting where the vast majority of the audience grew up with RT, RF and RM (RMC. RMF, RML RLC etc) codes and more recently D, M and T, so I have doubts whether he had many people agreeing with him.

 

[Goldfish62]

I remember London United giving their small batch of Geminis the code VR, Volvo wRight.

I remember Peter Hendy talking at a LOTS meeting about vehicle codes and pointing out that they are just that - codes, they don't have to stand for anything and we shouldn't try to ascribe a meaning to them. Of course, he was addressing a meeting where the vast majority of the audience grew up with RT, RF and RM (RMC. RMF, RML RLC etc) codes and more recently D, M and T, so I have doubts whether he had many people agreeing with him.

But he's quite correct. An operator can give a batch of E200s the code XYZ. It doesn't matter if it stands for anything as it's simply a code to distinguish a bus type in the fleet.

 

[jp4712]

To agree with Peter Hendy on the codes not necessarily needing to be logical...

Many, many years ago (about 1930, in fact) the London General Omnibus Company - which shortly thereafter became the heart of London Transport's buses - had a four-wheel type and, obviously a fair bit bigger, a six-wheel type. These were coded ST and LT (normally assumed to mean Short T-type and Long T-type*. The four-wheel type was then updated and made slightly longer, and this was given the code STL - Short T-type Long...?

* - T-type AEC engine.

 

[Goldfish62]

To agree with Peter Hendy on the codes not necessarily needing to be logical...

Many, many years ago (about 1930, in fact) the London General Omnibus Company - which shortly thereafter became the heart of London Transport's buses - had a four-wheel type and, obviously a fair bit bigger, a six-wheel type. These were coded ST and LT (normally assumed to mean Short T-type and Long T-type*. The four-wheel type was then updated and made slightly longer, and this was given the code STL - Short T-type Long...?

* - T-type AEC engine.

And moving up to date we have the bus with no official name - NBfL, NRM, Borismaster or whatever you want to call it, which has the type code LT. What on earth does LT stand for in relation to the actual bus?

 

[317 forever]

From my old stomping ground:

Go-Ahead
E: double deck Enviro 400
SE: Single deck Enviro 200
EH: Enviro Hybrid (Integral)
EN: Enviro Non-native (Purchased from other ops, fx. First London/Abellio)
SEN: Single deck Enviro Non-native
EP: Electric Pantograph (ADL/BYD electrics with pantograph charging)
Ee: double deck Enviro electric
SEe: Single deck Enviro electric
EHV: Enviro Hybrid Volvo B5LH
WVL: Wright Volvo (Gemini BnTL, n= 7, 9, 5)
WVN: Wright Volvo (Non-native)
(PVL: Plaxton Volvo B7TL)
MEC: Mercedes Citaro
(MAL: Mercedes Articulated)
MHV: MCV Hybrid Volvo B5LH
Me: Optare/Switch Metrodecker Electric
OM: Optare Metrocity (diesel)
WS: Wright Streetlite
WSD: Wright StreetDeck


Stagecoach fits in the national numbering scheme;
1xxxx double deckers
3xxxx minibus single decks (E200s)
6xxxx electric singles
8xxxx electric doubles

I reckon that the EP means Enviro Pantograph, as it is a capital E, the P taking the place of the e for electric.

To answer the question about the LT code, maybe just tradition/heritage as LT has often been an acronym for London Transport.

 

[joieman]

And moving up to date we have the bus with no official name - NBfL, NRM, Borismaster or whatever you want to call it, which has the type code LT. What on earth does LT stand for in relation to the actual bus?

Probably London Transport

 

[Goldfish62]

Probably London Transport

Of course, but my point was that it bears no relation to the actual vehicle.