London Buses route 49

London Buses route 49 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between White City bus station and Clapham Junction, it is operated by Abellio London.

History

Route 49 is a long standing route, once operating as far as Crystal Palace at its southern end. On 26 November 1958, it was extended from Shepherd's Bush to Willesden Junction on Sundays, to replace route 12.

By 15 May 1971 the route was withdrawn between Crystal Palace and Streatham Garage, the lost section having been converted to One Person Operation (OPO) through the creation of new Route 249 between Crystal Palace and Clapham Junction.

On 28 October 1978, the Sunday extension to Willesden Junction was withdrawn, and replaced by the re-extension of route 12.

Throughout the 1970s and until 1987, the service was jointly operated by Streatham (AK) and Merton (AL) garages using Routemasters (RMs).

The route was converted to One Person Operation (OPO) in June 1987, with Shepherds Bush Garage (S) taking over from Merton on Mondays to Saturdays. Streatham Garage initially operated Metrobus (M class) and Leyland Olympian (L class) on the route, the latter subsequently being replaced by the return of the Daimler Fleetline (D/DMS class), whilst Shepherds Bush provided Metrobuses.

Following on from its OPO conversion, the route was extended back to Crystal Palace on 17 June 1989, when Route 249 that had replaced it 18 years previously was withdrawn. This was an unusual move in an era of route-shortening for improved efficiency and indeed only lasted until 25 May 1991 when Route 49 was withdrawn between Clapham Junction and Crystal Palace. It was replaced over this section by the reintroduction of Route 249 between Crystal Palace and Tooting Bec, together with the introduction of new overlapping Route 349 between Streatham and Sloane Square.

Operation of the shortened Route 49 became the sole responsibility of Shepherds Bush Garage, with Stockwell (SW) later taking over.

In May 1999, Armchair Passenger Transport began operating the route on a short-term contract from Brentford garage after London General lost the route, until new buses were ready for London United.

On 30 October 1999, London United commenced operating the route from Shepherd's Bush garage with Plaxton Pointer 2 bodied Dennis Dart SLFs. Between 2002 and 2004, the route was operated from Stamford Brook garage. Upon return to Shepherd's Bush, the route was converted back to double-decker buses.

On 29 November 2008, the route was extended from Shepherd's Bush Green to White City bus station to coincide with the opening of Westfield London.[1] Upon being re-tendered, the route was awarded to Abellio London's Battersea garage with the transfer to occur on 6 September 2014.

Current route

• White City bus station for Wood Lane station
• Shepherd's Bush station
• Kensington High Street
• High Street Kensington station
• Gloucester Road station
• South Kensington station
• Chelsea Old Town Hall
• Battersea Bridge
• Clapham Junction station
• Clapham Junction Bolingbroke Grove

References

External links

• Media related to London Buses route 49 at Wikimedia Commons
• London Bus Routes gallery
• Timetable