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The story
In April 1989, London Buses was divided into 11 separate business units, one of which was Metroline. As part of the privatisation of London bus services, Metroline was sold in October 1994 to a management buyout worth £20 million (equivalent to £42,200,000 in 2025).
Shortly following its privatisation in December 1994, Metroline became the first ex-London Buses company to expand when it bought Atlas Bus & Coach, regaining route 52 as part of the purchase, which it had earlier lost under tendering to Atlas. Metroline later purchased MTL London in July 1998, and in February 2000, was eventually sold to ComfortDelGro for £73.8 million (equivalent to £140,253,000 in 2025).
In August 2004, ComfortDelGro purchased Thorpes with four TfL bus routes, a network of mobility bus services and 66 buses, followed by in November 2004 Armchair Passenger Transport with seven TfL bus routes and 86 buses. The coach business of Armchair was absorbed into ComfortDelGro-owned Westbus UK in 2006. Thorpes and Armchair initially retained their existing names before being rebranded to Metroline in January 2007.
In April 2012, Metroline were investigated after reports from meetings stated that defect sheets were not being filled out correctly, and defects not being corrected. With 50% of all buses having a defect, and 25% of having a PG9 notice, which indicates "serious defects" which "affect the roadworthiness of the vehicle and renders it unsafe". A whistleblower said: "Typical PG9 defects include faulty handbrakes or failures in the steering and central braking systems — all of which can cause accidents. Yet when I raised my concerns within the company, managers did not act. I believe they did not do so because taking buses off-road for repairs would cost them money."
In June 2013, Metroline purchased First London's Alperton, Greenford, Hayes, Uxbridge and Willesden Junction garages with 494 buses.
In March 2024, Metroline was awarded the final tranche operations of the Bee Network in Greater Manchester by Transport for Greater Manchester, forming a new company named Metroline Manchester, which commenced operations on 5 January 2025.
In 2025, Metroline celebrated 25 years of ownership by ComfortDelGro with a celebration being help at Cricklewood Bus Garage on 26 june.
From Wikipedia’s article on Metroline, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5