London’s fringe gains an A3 and B1

Tuesday 28th July 2026 A whole raft of route changes in south Essex began yesterday. Many tendered routes changed hands with Stephensons gaining work from both Central Connect and First Bus at the same time as those companies introduced interesting initiatives on London’s fringes including a long restored cross boundary route and a brand new one. I took a look at both new routes yesterday to try and get the measure of them and their potential for success. First up is Central Connect’s route A3 which provides a restored link along the short bus-less section of road between Waltham Abbey, Sewardstone and the Lee Valley Camp Site, the latter being the northern terminus of TfL bus route 215. Map courtesy of Mike Harris and the Greater London Bus Map The timetable comprises seven off-peak hourly return journeys between 08:50 and 15:08 with an eight minute journey time and two minutes layover at the Lee Valley Camp Site. In practice journeys originate in Waltham Cross because west of…