London Buses route 242

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**242**

Management
Operated by	Arriva London
Garage	Stamford Hill
Vehicle	{{{vehicle}}}
Route
Start	Homerton
Via	Hackney Dalston Bank Holborn
End	Tottenham Court Road
Length	8 miles (12 km)
Service
Level	24 hours
Frequency	About every 6 minutes
Journey time	41-73 minutes
Night	24 hours
Adult single fares
Cash	£1.50
Oyster	80p (£1 Mon-Fri 7-9.30am)
Transport for London

London Buses route 242 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London.

1 History
2 Current route
- 2.1 Route departing Homerton
- 2.2 Route departing Tottenham Court Road
3 Gallery
4 External links

[edit] History

The 242 was the first London route to be converted for operation by low floor double deckers. This was largely down to the fact that, while most operators had gone for Dennis or Volvo products, Arriva London has gone for the DAF, and in the event DAF was the first to have production chassis available.

The 242 route was formed by amalgamating the 22A and 22B routes. At one time the 22 bus had covered this ground between the West End and Clapton Park. Later the 22 spawned a 22A variant running to London Bridge and running further into Clapton Park, while the Piccadilly Circus to Clapton Park section of the 22 became the 22B. Later the 22B was diverted away from Piccadilly Circus to Tottenham Court Road tube station, giving rise to the bizarre situation where the 22 was completely estranged from the 22B!

Latterly the 22A and 22B were operated by Kentish Bus. Initially Kentish Bus had worked from a depot in Temple Mills, but later moved to the large Ash Grove/Cambridge Heath garage now used by East Thames Buses. But Kentish Bus became part of Arriva, most of its north east London work was lost, and the remainder was transferred to Arriva London. Moreover, the wheel has come full circle, with the 22A withdrawn, the 22B renumbered 242 and extended to replace the final bit of the 22A in Clapton Park.