London Buses route 15 (Heritage)

Last updated

15H
Heritage route 15.jpg
Stagecoach London AEC Routemaster
Overview
Operator Stagecoach London
Garage West Ham
Vehicle AEC Routemaster
Peak vehicle requirement5
StatusDefunct
Began service14 November 2005
Ended service14 November 2020
Night-time N15
Route
Start Tower Hill station
Via Cannon Street
Aldwych
End Trafalgar Square
Length3 miles (4.8 km)
Service
LevelWeekends and public holidays
Late March to Late September only
FrequencyAbout every 20 minutes
Journey time24-25 minutes
Operates09:30 until 19:00
← {{{previous_line}}} {{{system_nav}}} {{{next_line}}} →

London Buses route 15H was a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. It ran between Tower Hill station and Trafalgar Square, and was operated by Stagecoach London. [1]

It was a short working of the standard route 15 and was the last route operated with preserved AEC Routemasters. [2] [3]

History

This route and route 9H were announced initially as 'A' and 'B' as short workings on existing routes to avoid any potential complications as Government's legislation requires buses to be fully wheelchair-accessible by 22 October 2014 in the entire United Kingdom. For Transport for London, they aimed to comply earlier with the last non-wheelchair accessible buses withdrawn in June 2008 with two exemptions - the heritage routes. Route 9H was withdrawn in 2014. [4]

One of the two routes, awarded to Stagecoach London, was for services between Trafalgar Square and Tower Hill, covering the most touristy section of route 15 taking in the Tower of London, Monument, St Paul's Cathedral and Trafalgar Square. [5] An extension to the Oxford Street area was excluded due to severe congestion there. The number of the parallel route 15 was adopted for the AEC Routemasters, despite potential for confusion with the main 15.

Ten buses were allocated to the operator; 5 for the daily turnout, 3 operational spares and 2 as a "strategic reserve". Despite having only a couple of weeks to prepare the vehicles after they left normal service, Stagecoach turned out 5 immaculately presented Routemasters for the first day of service, 14 November 2005. The first journey was driven by Peter Hendy, managing director of TfL surface transport.

In April 2008, one of the buses was painted in a special Indian Red and Silver livery, to promote Bow Garage's Centenary. It was first revealed at the London Bus Preservation Trust's Cobham bus rally, and soon after entered regular service.

The buses operated with conductors collecting fares, in cash (until July 2014, when they went cashless along with the rest of the London bus network) or by Oyster card. Travelcards and Bus and Tram passes were also accepted, but contactless payment cards were not.

In 2015, it was announced that ten Routemasters were to be refurbished which included opening windows being refitted. [6] In November of the same year, the frequency of the service was reduced from a bus every 15 minutes to a bus every 20 minutes in an attempt to improve the reliability of the service. [7]

From 2 March 2019, the heritage service was reduced to operate only on weekends and bank holidays, from the last (2019: first) Saturday in March until the last weekend in September. [8]

The route did not operate during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its contract expired in November of that year and was not renewed. In 2021, Transport for London confirmed that the route would not run again, thus being withdrawn at the end of its contract on 14 November 2020. [9] [10] [11]

In October 2023, new heritage route T15 started operating daily from Tower Gateway to Charing Cross and on across the river to Waterloo, by Transpora Group. However, this route is operated privately and is not connected to Transport for London. [12]

Former route

Route 15H operated via these primary locations:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AEC Routemaster</span> British double-decker bus

The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last one was delivered in 1968. The layout of the vehicle was conventional for the time, with a half-cab, front-mounted engine and open rear platform, although the coach version was fitted with rear platform doors. Forward entrance vehicles with platform doors were also produced as was a unique front-entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buses in London</span>

Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn omnibus service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London bus has become a symbol of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 3</span> London bus route

London Buses route 3 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Crystal Palace and Victoria bus stations, it is operated by Transport UK London Bus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 5</span> London bus route

London Buses route 5 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Romford Market and Canning Town bus station, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 6</span> London bus route

London Buses route 6 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Willesden bus garage and Victoria station, it is operated by Metroline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bus conductor</span> Person who sells and checks tickets on a bus

A bus conductor is a person responsible for collecting fares from bus passengers. Bus conductors may also be responsible for helping passengers to board, keeping the bus route on schedule, attracting potential passengers to the vehicle, and announcing bus stops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 9</span> London bus route

London Buses route 9 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Hammersmith bus station and Aldwych, it is operated by Metroline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 9 (Heritage)</span> Former London heritage bus route

London Buses route 9H was a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. It ran between Kensington High Street and Trafalgar Square, and was last operated by Tower Transit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 12</span> London bus route

London Buses route 12 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Dulwich Library and Oxford Circus, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 13</span> London bus route

London Buses route 13 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between North Finchley bus station and Victoria station, it is operated by RATP Dev Transit London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 15</span> London bus route

London Buses route 15 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Blackwall and Charing Cross stations, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 29</span> London bus route

London Buses route 29 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Trafalgar Square and Wood Green station, it is operated by Arriva London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 53</span> London bus route

London Buses route 53 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Plumstead station and Lower Marsh, it is operated by Stagecoach London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 23</span> London bus route

London Buses route 23 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Westbourne Park station and Aldwych, it is operated by RATP Dev Transit London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 45</span> London bus route

London Buses route 45 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Clapham Park and Elephant and Castle, it is operated by Transport UK London Bus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 94</span> London bus route

London Buses route 94 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Acton Green and Piccadilly Circus, it is operated by RATP Dev Transit London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 271</span> Former London bus route

London Buses route 271 was a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. It ran between Highgate Village and Finsbury Square, and was last operated by Metroline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Buses route 159</span> London bus route

London Buses route 159 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Streatham station and Oxford Circus, it is operated by Transport UK London Bus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Routemaster</span> Hybrid diesel-electric double-decker bus

The New Routemaster, originally referred to as the New Bus for London and colloquially as the Borismaster or Boris Bus, is a low-floor diesel double-decker bus operated in London, England. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by Wrightbus, it is notable for featuring a "hop-on hop-off" rear open platform similar to the original Routemaster bus design but updated to meet requirements for modern buses to be fully accessible. It first entered service in February 2012 with Arriva London on London Buses route 38.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Night buses in London</span> Series of night bus routes that serve Greater London

The London Night Bus network is a series of night bus routes that serve Greater London. Services broadly operate between the hours of 23:00 and 06:00.

References

  1. ↑ "Bus tender results". Transport for London. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  2. ↑ "Touring Routemasters hit the road". BBC News. 14 November 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  3. ↑ Webster, Ben (28 June 2005). "Tourist icon stays on the road". The Times . London. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  4. ↑ Bennett, Owen (7 March 2014). "'This bus terminates here!' Iconic London Routemaster buses a step closer to being axed". Daily Express. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Heritage route contracts awarded". Transport for London. 9 September 2005. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  6. ↑ Heritage Routemasters receive their Eastleigh refits Buses issue 725 August 2015 page 25
  7. ↑ "Bus service proposal: Heritage Routemaster journeys on route 15". Transport for London . Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Permanent bus changes, Route 15 heritage". Transport for London. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  9. ↑ "TfL confirms Heritage Routemasters won't return". keybuses.com. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Transport for London retires last heritage service of Routemaster buses". The Guardian . 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  11. ↑ London heritage route 15h withdrawn Coach & Bus Week 21 April 2021
  12. ↑ "Londoner Buses: Ride a classic London Bus! T15 Heritage Route" (PDF). www.londonerbuses.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2024.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to London Buses route 15 (Heritage) at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.