London Bus routes offering the most variety

[ValleyLines142]

Which London Bus routes would you say offer the most variety?

The 15 seems to catch my eye!

 

[90sWereBetter]

If you're after variety of vehicles, the 4, 17, 36, 45 and 468 have a ridiculous variety at present, and are some of the last routes in London to still have Plaxton Presidents in service.

Go Ahead have just taken over the 5 and 115 from Stagecoach and there's a mixed bag of vehicles on the routes at present. Given how hard GAL have run the 147 into the ground since they took that over from Stagecoach last year, I wonder how bad they're gonna be on these routes.

 

[class387]

Which London Buse routes would you say offer the most variety?

The 15 seems to catch my eye!

I don't know, but it definitely isn't the 15, which is just NB4Ls and a RM every 20 mins.

 

[Busaholic]

Standardisation is the watchword, variety is anathema to TfL. I'd say until a few days ago the 25 was the most characterful route because of its sheer length and the presence of the usually frowned-upon scheduled short workings, but I believe the latter have now disappeared again. The 15 does at least have the distinction of two separate operators for the ordinary and heritage services.

 

[SaadVroom]

There is a hidden bus that travels around london on unknown stops in the mornings (not in the summer) and the TFL has deleted everything about it from their website and there is only one picture of them (I can confirm it still goes around since I saw it a few weeks ago and information has been missing for a long time.

Here is the only picture of it on the internet:

 

[Harbouring]

Londonbusroutes has the 675 down as a school bus. And it seems a lot of school bus routes don't show up on TFL website. Per recent discussion I think these might be still usable by the general public but the infrequency and the possibility of short notice changes is why these are not advertised.

 

[ValleyLines142]

When I say variety I don't mean so much vehicles I mean just in general.

I caught the 87 from Clapham Junction a few weeks ago and was surprised it only took about 30 minutes to get to Westminster. By the time you got into Waterloo on SWR and made your way across to Westminster you'd be looking at the same amount of time!

 

[Bookd]

As an interesting route I would suggest the 465. Starting from the busy Kingston town centre it passes through suburbia, then past Chessington to Leatherhead on its way to open country. On its way from there to Dorkng it passes through the village of Mickleham, crosses the North Downs Way, passes a vineyard (well worth a visit) before reaching Dorking which is an excellent market town.
Total journey time about 52 minutes (traffic permitting!)

 

[Tetchytyke]

The 375 is different?

 

[Busaholic]

There is a hidden bus that travels around london on unknown stops in the mornings (not in the summer) and the TFL has deleted everything about it from their website and there is only one picture of them (I can confirm it still goes around since I saw it a few weeks ago and information has been missing for a long time.

Here is the only picture of it on the internet:

The person who chose this route number might just be familiar with the area's transport history. The 625 was a trolleybus route in the Woodford/Walthamstow area and its replacement was the Routemaster operated 275 bus route, so 675 is a nice amalgam.

 

[W-on-Sea]

The 464 is an interesting, and scenic route. It starts by the end of the tramline at New Addington (postwar sprawling council estate), then heads sharply downhill along country lanes to get to Biggin Hill Valley, passing the airfield on the way, and then goes back along more country lanes to end up in the rather charming and remote village of Tatsfield.

In inner London, maybe the C11 is a good one - demonstrating that back-street routes can be quite interesting. Brent Cross, through the edge of Cricklewood, past the greens of West Hampstead, onto Finchley Road to Swiss Cottage, then into Belsize Park and to the edge of Hampstead Heath, Gospel Oak, Parliament Hill Fields, Highgate Newtown, and then to Archway.

 

[ian1944]

When I was a bit younger, occasionally I revisited parts of London lived or worked in years ago. Inter-suburban bus services were needed, and one which always seemed to get used was the river-crossing 108 Lewisham - Stratford. Both termini are good hubs, and some interest can be found in the Blackwall Tunnel, the Dome and the (in modern parlance) iconic Bow Church, and the open space of Blackheath gives a nice visual sweep.