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394
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| Overview | |
| Operator | CT Plus |
| Garage | Ash Grove |
| Vehicle | Dennis Dart SLF / Caetano Slimbus Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 10 |
| Nighttime | No |
| Route | |
| Start | Homerton University Hospital |
| Via | Hackney Broadway Market Hoxton |
| End | Islington |
| Length | 7 miles (11 km) |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
| Frequency | About every 12-15 minutes |
| Journey time | 29-55 minutes |
| Operates | Yes |
| Transport for London • Performance |
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London Buses route 394 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to CT Plus.
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The 394, originally called the Shoreditch Hoppa, was started in September 2001[1] under a London Service Permit[2]. It was developed to address the lack of public transport running east to west across Shoreditch and funded as part of the New Deal for Communities (NDC). The NDC purchased two custom-made buses and appointed Hackney Community Transport (later renamed HCT Group) to run the service following a competitive tendering process.[1]
The service started in September 2001, initially running at a half-hourly frequency between Tolpuddle Street in Islington and Broadway Market. It was operated with two Renault minibuses in a unique blue livery and served several roads with no other bus routes.[3] Passenger numbers rose rapidly to 2,200 per week and Transport for London agreed to integrate the Shoreditch Hoppa in to the mainstream London Buses network, with a route number and inclusion on network maps.[1]
Transport for London awarded HCT Group subsidiary CT Plus a contract to run route 394 in March 2003.[4] The contract was retained by HCT when the route again came up for tender. When the new contract began, the route was extended to Homerton and the vehicles on the route changed to low-floor Dennis Dart SLF single-deckers. The frequency of the route was increased; from initially using just two vehicles, it now requires 10 buses.[5]
In October 2009 a baby was born on a bus operating route 394. The baby was given the middle name Dennis after the manufacturer of the bus.[6]
Route 394 links the busy boroughs of Hackney and Islington, and visits the culturally significant areas of London Fields and Hoxton. Its route was featured in Time Out London magazine in March 2009.[8]