Route 15 in London

[Greenback]

I was looking at the Tfl bus maps last night, and it seems the number 15 bus starts and finishes at Regent Street now. I'm sure I caught it all the way from Paddington to Tower Hill last year - could someone reassure me that I;m not going mad, and let me know when it was cut back?

Of course, there is the possibility that I am going mad!

 

[Deerfold]

I was looking at the Tfl bus maps last night, and it seems the number 15 bus starts and finishes at Regent Street now. I'm sure I caught it all the way from Paddington to Tower Hill last year - could someone reassure me that I;m not going mad, and let me know when it was cut back?

Of course, there is the possibility that I am going mad!

That's right - the Western section to Paddington Basin has been added onto route 159 (24-hours) on 28th August. From the same date the 15 was cut back.

It's part of the project to reduce the number of buses travelling along Oxford Street (they've been cut by about 20% over the last 2 years).

 

[Greenback]

Thanks Deerfold, at least my memory isn't that bad! I expect the buses are still nose to nose in Oxford St though?

 

[Deerfold]

Thanks Deerfold, at least my memory isn't that bad! I expect the buses are still nose to nose in Oxford St though?

Pretty much - should get better once all the roadworks are finished though (if that ever happens).

Feel free to PM me if you ever want to know anything about the recent history of London buses - I have access to far too much of that sort of thing

 

[Greenback]

I will do, we tend to use the bus rather than the Underground as Mrs Greenback doesn't like the Tube, although she can manage a short journey on the cut and cover bits.

 

[Oracle]

Time was when the 15 ran to Kew Green on Sundays!

 

[Deerfold]

Time was when the 15 ran to Kew Green on Sundays!

That's before my time - but even as recently as 1992 it ran From Westbourne Park to East Ham (and at weekends to Eat Ham until 2003)

 

[Oracle]

Just checked...it went as far (over the years) to Kew Green, then Kew Gardens Station and finally Richmond Station to East 'Am, being withdrawn 25th April 1981 to be replaced by an extension of the 7.

 

[313103]

It is such a shame that the 2 most popular East / West London Routes are just a shadow of their former self, the 15 as mentioned above and the 8 Which use to run between Old Ford and Willesden Bus garage. Then in 1992 along with what was called 'Catch the Central Changes' it was cut back and diverted to Victoria Station and then last year was cut back to finish at Oxford Circus. Travelling by bus across town is know a no, no. People who want to travel across town are either forced to make numerous changes or use the tube.

 

[Deerfold]

It is such a shame that the 2 most popular East / West London Routes are just a shadow of their former self, the 15 as mentioned above and the 8 Which use to run between Old Ford and Willesden Bus garage. Then in 1992 along with what was called 'Catch the Central Changes' it was cut back and diverted to Victoria Station and then last year was cut back to finish at Oxford Circus. Travelling by bus across town is know a no, no. People who want to travel across town are either forced to make numerous changes or use the tube.

That's mostly because of increased congestion - customers get annoyed when their bus is late/ there's a long gap because of congestion on the other side of London - this isn't just a problem in London, NCT and TrentBarton in Nottingham have removed almost all their cross city routes - and there used to be a lot of them - most of the routes in the area which go from on side to the other are subsidised and miss out the middle of Nottingham.

 

[Oracle]

The 7 [originally the 25?] used to go through Mayfair, I think from Oxford Street, and came out on to Piccadilly next to Green Park station. Traffic congestion was so bad with bad parking that it had to be diverted after a certain time in the evening. I recall it was a RM route at one time, and featured RM7!

 

[Deerfold]

The 7 used to go through Mayfair, I think from Oxford Street, and came out on to Piccadilly next to Green Park station. Traffic congestion was so bad with bad parking that it had to be diverted after a certain time in the evening. I recall it was a RM route at one time, and featured RM7!

Replaced by the 8 (I used to jump off the RM just befor it went round the corner) on this bit and now the C2.

 

[W-on-Sea]

..although the C2 takes a slightly different route through Mayfair from that formerly taken by the 8 (and before that the 25) - it enters Mayfair from Regent Street, and doesn't go along any section of Oxford Street at all (as part of Boris's plans to reduce bus congestion along that road).

Actually there have been a number of route extensions in recent years in London, not close to recreating the old lengthy cross-town routes, but a definite step away from the shorter routes of recent years: the extension of the 88 from Oxford Circus up to Camden Town is one (giving a cross town link from Clapham); and that of the 170 (from Roehampton) being extended from Clapham Junction to Victoria being two prominent, and central , examples. Or the 99, formerly Woolwich-Erith, being extended onto Bexleyheath by quite a roundabout route, being one further out.

I suspect that these extensions may, in part, result from the widespread usage of Oyster (and discouragement of cash fares) having significantly reduced dwell time at stops for one-person operated buses in London

 

[Deerfold]

..although the C2 takes a slightly different route through Mayfair from that formerly taken by the 8 (and before that the 25) - it enters Mayfair from Regent Street, and doesn't go along any section of Oxford Street at all (as part of Boris's plans to reduce bus congestion along that road).

Actually there have been a number of route extensions in recent years in London, not close to recreating the old lengthy cross-town routes, but a definite step away from the shorter routes of recent years: the extension of the 88 from Oxford Circus up to Camden Town is one (giving a cross town link from Clapham); and that of the 170 (from Roehampton) being extended from Clapham Junction to Victoria being two prominent, and central , examples. Or the 99, formerly Woolwich-Erith, being extended onto Bexleyheath by quite a roundabout route, being one further out.

I suspect that these extensions may, in part, result from the widespread usage of Oyster (and discouragement of cash fares) having significantly reduced dwell time at stops for one-person operated buses in London

The extension of the 88 to Camden town was 02/09/2000! The 170 basically swallowed up the 239 on 17/02/2008.

 

[317 forever]

When route 15 ran to Richmond this section started at Aldgate and was run by Middle Row garage. The main section from East Ham to Ladbroke Grove, run by Upton Park garage, I think then ran through to East Acton on Sundays to compensate for route 7 not running on Sundays then.