The Optare Fiasco

Intro

On Friday the 22nd May a fire broke out at Metroline Potters Bar [PB] depot, with the bus going up in flames being an Optare Metrodecker, this has since led to the grounding of every fleet of these vehicles in the UK since, however this is not the first time the Metrodecker has faced an issue...

Route 134

Back in 2019, the 43 & 134 were the first 2 double deck routes to go electric upon tender, both were to get different batches of vehicles. The 43 received 37 Enviro 400 City EV vehicles (BDEs) at Holloway [HT] garage and the 134 received 31 Optare Metrodecker EV vehicles (OMEs) at Potters Bar [PB], as seen below:

OME2663 & OME2667 by VP500

However, from the very start the 134 was plagued by issues. The batch of buses began arriving very late, however the 134 had already gained a temporary allocation of hybrids due to the ULEZ coming into force in April 2019, which affected the 134 at the time due to it terminating at Tottenham Court Road, which was within the zone. The temporary allocation on the 134 consisted of Volvo B5LH/MCV Evoseti's VMH2532-2556/2577-2581, which belonged to routes 31, 317 & 607. Slowly over the coming months the OMEs would begin to arrive, however more issues followed with many of the OMEs not able to last out the day in service and many also breaking down. It wouldn't be until mid 2020 until the full set of OMEs was in service, nearly a year after they began introduction.

Further issues would transpire in mid 2021 during a week long heatwave, which saw the batteries in the Optares failing due to the heat, as a result some spare Volvo B5LH/Wright Eclipse Gemini 3s were drafted in from the recently lost route X140, these being VWH2241 & VWH2242, you'd also see an increase of 125 VWHs appearing on the route around this time. Later on in the autumn VWH2235-2237 would join the other 2 ex X140 VWHs, of which VWH2235/2237/2241-2242 remain allocated as floats for the route to this day, as many of the OMEs went back to Optare for mods.

Optares for the 23, 200 & C3

After the 134s 2019 order of Metrodeckers the next set to ensue would be Optares for Tower Transit routes 23 & C3 at Westbourne Park [X], which would be numbered OE34001-34037 and would arrive between Autumn 2020 and Summer 2021. Yet again with this batch they were very late, with route C3 having to use ex route 25 VNs upon first arrival at Westbourne Park [X], these being VN36122-36130/36133/36135/36138. Luckily for route 23 its existing Enviro 400 Hybrids (being a retain, rather than a win like the C3) were available to continue being used, not being needed on the 414 until November 2021. Even once conversion started with these the 23 would struggle to keep a full allocation, like the 134, and similarly the night allocation often ended up seeing conventionals.

Route 200 was next in line during the early summer of 2021 to gain Metrodeckers, also (following the trend) being fairly late, these too also took a while to get them all in service, and the 200 often has a few conventional diesels appearing by the evening usually.

Despite all this the Optare Metrodecker does actually have a very nice interior, minus the infamous back downstairs window, and is a very nippy vehicle - albeit the bus as a whole is very unreliable.

The Potters Bar Fire

Friday the 22nd May saw a fire break out on an OME that was parked inside the grounds of Potters Bar [PB] garage, which had a minor explosion occur when being put out. This has since caused the grounding of most Optare EV products whilst an investigation occurs, below is an image of the fire that occurred at Potters Bar [PB]:

6 Buses ablaze as a result of the OME catching fire by Time Series

The buses that perished as a result were the following (From left to right)

VW1200 LK11CYU - Allocated to route 231

VW1838 BV10WVU - Meal Relief Bus

Unidentified OME - Caused the fire, allocated to route 134

TE1426 LK62DYA - Allocated to route W8

TE1083 LK60AFO - Allocated to route 307

OME2670 YJ69DFK - Allocated to route 134

As a result, some ex First VWs have been resurrected from Perivale [PV] garage for use at Potters Bar [PB], these are VW1817-1820/1837/1841, whether they are long term replacements for the lost buses is yet to be seen.

The Grounding of Optare EVs

The aftermath of the fire saw all Optare EVs (including single deck Metrocitys) to be grounded as a safety precaution. As a result routes 23, 134, 200 & C3 had no allocation, which saw the routes round up an interesting selection of vehicles, at the time of writing this post the following were drafted in:

Metroline 134 at Potters Bar [PB]:

From Brentford [AH]:

VWH2698

From Cricklewood [W]:

VWH2024, VWH2025 & VWH2027

From Edgware [EW]:

VMH2446 & VMH2496

From Harrow Weald [HD]:

VWH2212

From Holloway [HT]:

VWH2098 & VWH2338

From Lampton [SG]:

VWH2267

From Willesden [AC]:

VWH2321 & VWH2397

From Willesden Junction [WJ]:

VMH2544

E400s TE1578-1581 have also been drafted in from the Rail Replacement fleet at Willesden Junction [WJ] for general use at Potters Bar [PB], the first diesels since 2019 have also begun appearing on the 134 in the form of TE1428 & 1438.

Go Ahead: London General 200 at Merton [AL]:

So far just EHV4 has arrived from Silvertown [SI], otherwise the 200 has been covered by a reduced service and existing Merton [AL] vehicles.

RATP Group: London Transit 23 & C3 at Westbourne Park [X]:

From Hounslow [AV]:

ADE40305, ADE40307 & ADE40310

From Shepherds Bush [S]:

VH45136, VH45138, VH45162, VH45163, VH45165, VH45318 & VH45319

Other spare vehicles existing at Westbourne Park [X] are also being used on a reduced C3 and heavily reduced 23. More vehicles are slowly arriving for route 23, the first day of the grounding both routes were just suspended.

Conclusion

So far Optare has gained a bad reputation, with this fire further tainting it, even if it turns out not to be the fault of the bus - but it leads the question, will any more orders still be placed? Currently we have the 322s Metrocity EVs due at Battersea [QB] (which in Optare fashion are also late) which will probably be held back longer now due to the grounding, and similarly Tower Transit over at Lea Interchange [LI] have just put in an order for more Metrocitys for retained route 339, however currently there is no orders for the Metrodecker, the question is will it stay that way...