Journey on Route 289, ES154, LY24FXG.

In this video, I ride the full length of the 289 between Elmers End and Purley* on the new allocation of the route, the Wright Streetdeck Electroliner. We've seen ESs stray on the 289 in the past from the 64's allocation, but now, more and more ESs are arriving in TH, and they're here to stay, as the batch arriving now are contractually allocated to the 250 and the 289, to replace the old Enviro400s that have served Brixton, Streatham, Croydon, Addiscombe and Waddon well for the past 15 or so years. The 289 converted to a full double decker allocation a year or two ago, with the last ENX to do the route being ENX28 (GN10KWE) if I remember correctly. This vehicle even had dayglow blinds, making it highly nostalgic in that regard, but that has since been withdrawn. The 289 will be the third route in Thornton Heath Bus Garage to fully convert to Electroliners, following the 64 and 250. It is also looking to be the speediest conversion of the three routes, as BZLs seem to be entering AR at a faster rate, making the ESs there that formed a temporary allocation for the 243 and 341 redundant. Soon, the 50 and 194 will both transfer to this garage and will be expected to convert/retain their Electroliner allocation. At the same time, the 410 will move to TC - South Croydon, Bus Garage - making TH a fully electric (and a fully Wrightbus) garage. This marks the end of an era for manually blinded E400s in Croydon. Now, the only buses Arriva run that will use Enviro400s will be the 60 and 194, with the 3 remaining 13reg Enviro400s left at TC: T279, T280 and T281. TH have recently taken in two Enviro400s from TC, those being T278 and T282, the latter of which I think is still at the garage with the former being taken out of service for good. That also makes T282 the only Enviro400 (and newest) at TH, registered in 2013. I have fond memories of these buses, having taken the 250 a plethora of times over the past decade when I'm to visit the Brixton and Streatham areas. As for the 289, I didn't make many memories with the route until recently, where I rode T188 which should now be withdrawn. You can find that video somewhere on the channel. I've also ridden it one other time from Elmers End - Croydon but I can't remember on which bus/fleet. Well, nobody can argue against these ESs being a much needed upgrade to those ageing T's. With TH being TH, the condition of a lot of those Enviro400s were poor anyway, but hopefully these Electroliners age more gracefully. The Electroliners bring an interesting array of features to the table such as USB-charging (still no USB-C support from Arriva), adaptive air conditioning which I weirdly didn't feel that much at all despite the grilles being aimed toward my face, the brand new, up-to-date ibus screens as well as you're standard, boujie, modern electric interior. I do think they suit the 289, what about you guys? You'll also find that, similar to the 250, depending on the destination, the font size of the route number can either be big and bold or skinnier looking to accomodate the destination text. This doesn't happen with the 64 as it only has a 2-digit route number. I didn't really notice anything else about these buses, but I do like Arriva's Electroliners in terms of the colour scheme. I just wish they didn't bother with grab poles on the upper deck, as even though it enhances safety if the driver were to brake harshly, it just looks a lot less sleek than the handles attached to the side of the seats by the aisle. I've made a poll asking you all to comment when you think this route will fully convert. Please do state your predictions there. I'm saying by the end of this week or next. Damn, just noticed this description is already quite long but one last thing to mention and that's the route. There was a nice, foresty area around Addiscombe that I took note of on the route, and I realise this route passes over a lot of bridges and railway lines interestingly. I also like the 40mph section, even though it's quite short, around Croydon Colonnades. The greenery there is very nice also. I might just prefer this route over the 250 you know, especially now I've done it in full. It's more interesting, for sure, and it isn't just a mirror copy of other routes, like a lot of buses in Croydon that go along the Brighton Road for instance. Comment your thoughts on the 289 bus route below as well. For now, please enjoy the 1hr 24 min of bus action I was successfully able to record (would've exceeded 1hr 30 if the entire recording went smoothly with no abrupt cuts or dodgy traffic lights, but oh well). 289 bus rating: 7.5/10 TH* - Thornton Heath Bus Garage Thanks for watching! Journey on Route 289 Elmers End Green to Purley Station Filmed on 2nd Jul' 26 Jayden Emmanuel