Karibus is Back

The Karibus as we knew it ceased trading in early 2024, all routes and buses were sold on to other operators. London plans were terminated and contracts were all forfeited. 

The good news now, it's 2026 and KariBus is back! A successful spell on the trains and overseas has put the company in the position to return to UK bus operations! 

KariBus Transport UK new logo, 2026

Plans have been in the works now and a lot of things are concrete, we are now in the position to share with you that we will be returning to Farthington on routes 208 and 349 (renumbered route 1) from Saturday 24th January. We are also set to launch for the first time in Wotton, Kent next month.

FARTHINGTON In the south-east of England, Farthington, a town we used to call home with our Scania Enviro400 on routes 1 and 208, both routes would operate every 30 minutes requiring just 1 bus each. A lot has changed since we have left, a new hotel has opened in Dry Barley by the Kestrel Bus Museum and Depot and Dry Lake, a second bus has been required for both routes as passenger numbers continue to grow. A chief complaint from passengers since has been the reliability of the schedule of route 1. Route 1 operates every 15 minutes or so with small time for recovery on either end, as you can imagine, this over the course of the day leads to an uneven service that isn't easily recovered on such a short route. 

We will put an end to this, it will now operate every 20 minutes between 0710 and 2310 all days of the week - in addition to this, earlier buses starting from 0550 and later buses until 0050, so in simpler terms, every 40 minutes before 0710 and after 2310.Oh, and it will be known as the 349 now. As of right now, 4 buses are needed for the PVR of the routs 208 and 349, these for the time being will be made up of second-hand double-deckers. 

Ex-Arriva Sapphire Volvo B9TL, now WVL5 for us

We have finished work on a very small operating base for 7 buses in Westheath that will house and fuel our fleet. A rest room and office also on site although heavy maintenance will be allocated to our Wotton depot which Westheath will be an outstation to once that is open next month.

WESTHEATH DEPOT 

WVL4 KB58 WVL - Purchased 

WVL5 KB58 VWL - Purchased 

WVL6 KB64 WVL - Purchased 

WSH1 SK19 FCV - On loan from First Bus 

WSH2 SK19 FCU - On loan from First Bus

WOTTON Now more towards the London area, we will be taking over Stagecoach's operations in Wotton in February. No buses will be involved in the deal. Routes 437, 448, 459, 495, 604, 607, 800, 852, 853 and 854 will transfer across. Route 421 will move to Go-Ahead London's Apsley depot and become part of the TfL network. Here's the even better bit, the new Superloop route SL22 between Wotton and Apsley has been awarded to us - this will mark our first official TfL service.

We will make a dedicated post to this soon, but for now, the attention is on Saturday... see you then.