A Quality Start To Quality Line's Operation of Route 465

Saturday the 30th of June saw Route 465 pass to Epsom Buses/Quality Line From Metrobus and as usual they like to make a big entrance by proudly showing this notice in all the buses that were on the 465 

The route now uses 11M Long Optare Versa's but actually hold one less than the 10.2M E200's that they have replaced, The E200's Holding 57

From around the mid-90s, service 465 was operated by London & Country. Tellings-Golden Miller was the next operator to win the contract for the route, and at the time it continued past Kingston to Tellings' Fulwell Bus Garage. We don't actually have a picture of one in service but here is one blinded for the route in Abellio's QB Depot 

After the takeover of Tellings, the service was run by Travel London, who mainly used Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 2s on the route shown by the picture above. Operation of the route passed from Travel London (Now Abellio) to Arriva Guildford & West Surreyon June 30, 2007. The contract change also saw the route withdrawn from Penrhyn Road in Kingston, due to complaints from residents over the number of buses using the road. The replacement route is via Surbiton Road and Portsmouth Road.

A few months after Arriva took over the route, one of the buses used on the route was involved in a serious accident. A van crashed into it and continued on into a house. The bus was away for repairs for a number of months. During this time, the company needed an extra bus, so a red liveried Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 2 was transferred on loan from Dartford depot, another part of Arriva Southern Counties. This was eventually returned. However, Arriva realised they were going to need a spare bus even when the accident damaged Enviro200 Dart was fixed, so an older Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 1 was transferred, again from Darford.  

Credit to Arriva436 for the picture

Here is 3179 It was transferred from another part of Arriva Southern Counties as the spare bus for route 465. As the spare, when it isn't needed, it can technically be run on any route, hence its allocation in the photo to the Horsham park and ride route 98 short workings. At this time, route 98 ran every 20 minutes, so an extra bus shuttled between the town centre and Hop Oast park and ride to bring the frequency up to every 10 minutes on that section, which is what 3179 is doing here. Arriva later increased the frequency of the whole route to every 15 minutes, negating the need for a shuttling bus. 

Following the acquisition of Arriva's operations in Horsham by Metrobus, operation of route 465 passed to Metrobus from 3 October 2009. It was the only London contract to be worked out of the company's depot in Crawley.

On the 30th June 2012 Quality Line gained the contract to operate route 465 using brand new Optare Versas, there has also been a new timetable which includes more running time and more stand time to improve reliability so with out further ado let's have a look at the new buses 

The route has a PVR of 5 and has no spare bus as only 5 were brought for it so its spare is an slightly older 60 Plate versa witch is a spare bus from the 411 and here is it below this route is also the only route to be owned by  both Transport for London and Surrey County Council.