System Green Line Garage Hatfield Start Hatfield | Operator Uno Night-time No night service | |
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Vehicle Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro | ||
Green Line route 797 is a limited-stop express coach service, currently operated by Uno as part of the Green Line Coaches network. It operates between Hatfield and London. Arriva recently decided to stop running this route and Uno are running a revised and reduced service from March 2015.
History
The UK coach market was deregulated in 1980 under the Transport Act 1980.
Route 797 was started by Green Line in the 1980s and once ran from London to Cambridge. When London Country Bus Services was broken up in 1986, route 797 passed with the Stevenage depot to London Country North East, sold in 1988 to AJS Group, whoch established the Sovereign brand. The operation was sold in 1990 to Luton & District Transport, which was itself then acquired by Arriva. In 1996, Arriva sold the route back to Sovereign, by then owned by the Blazefield Group.
In 2004, Arriva purchased the Hertfordshire side of the Sovereign business, with the London side being sold to Transdev London. From 2005 to 2015, Arriva operated the route, but operation was transferred to Uno.
In 2001, before the sale, Sovereign purchased two Volvo B10M/Plaxton Premiere, which were specially branded for the route. However these are no longer used, being replaced by older Van Hool coaches and more recently, newer ones that were cascaded from the 757 London-Luton service. They were specially branded for the 797 service and feature rear adverts for shopping, leisure, and work uses of the service.
It was common to see standard Arriva buses, instead of coaches, running on the route. They were mainly ex-Sovereign dual purpose vehicles.
Unobus operated the route from Hatfield to London Victoria from 28 February 2015 until 31 August 2015, when route was made to terminate at London Baker Street. At the same time, the route north to Stevenage and Hitchin was extended to terminate at Hitchin railway station. Previously, the service north from Hatfield was provided by connecting service 625/635 to Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworh and Baldock. This service was withdrawn on 31 August 2015 and replaced by the 797.
Coach stops at the University of Hertfordshire include the College Lane Campus, The Halls of Residence on Bishops Rise, and the de Havilland campus.