London Buses route 88 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Parliament Hill Fields and Clapham Common, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.
| 88 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | Go-Ahead London |
| Garage | Stockwell |
| Vehicle | Alexander Dennis Enviro400H Alexander Dennis Enviro400H MMC Volvo B5LH Wright Gemini 3 |
| Night-time | 24-hour service |
| Route | |
| Start | Parliament Hill Fields |
| Via | Kentish Town Camden Town Albany Street Great Portland Street Oxford Circus Piccadilly Circus Trafalgar Square Parliament Square Vauxhall Stockwell |
| End | Clapham Common |
History
editRoute 88 was the first "Metropolitan" route to receive AEC NS-type buses, running between Acton Green and Mitcham.[1]
Between 1993 and 1997, a fleet of 12 m (39 ft) Northern Counties Paladin-bodied Volvo B10Bs, which featured branding that styled the service as "The Clapham Omnibus", were operated by London General on route 88. The Paladins were withdrawn in 1997 due to issues caused by their length and replaced with double-decker buses.[2][3][4]
London General successfully retained route 88 with a new contract starting on 13 December 2003. Go-Ahead London successfully retained route 88 with a new contract starting on 11 December 2010.[5][6]
New Routemasters were introduced on 22 August 2015.[7]
On 30 March 2019, the route was extended from Camden Town to Parliament Hill Fields and re-routed between Camden Town and Great Portland Street Station to go via Albany Street and ultimately replace the C2, which ceased operation entirely.[8]
Current route
editRoute 88 operates via these primary locations:[9]
- Parliament Hill Fields for Hampstead Heath
- Kentish Town Station
- Camden Town station
- Regent's Park Barracks
- Great Portland Street station
- Oxford Circus station
- Regent Street
- Piccadilly Circus station
- Trafalgar Square for Charing Cross station
- Whitehall
- Westminster station
- Tate Britain
- Vauxhall Bridge
- Vauxhall bus station
for Vauxhall station - Vauxhall Park
- Stockwell station
- Clapham North & Clapham High Street stations
- Clapham Common station
- Clapham Common Omnibus Clapham
References
edit- ^ Graeme Bruce, J; Curtis, Colin (1977). The London Motor Bus: Its Origins and Development. London Transport. p. 43. ISBN 0853290830.
- ^ Time out London guide. Penguin Books. 1995. p. 103.
The 88 bus, recently and rather self-consciously styled "The Clapham Omnibus", starts its pleasantly circuitous route from here, to points north of the River.
- ^ Rainford, Paul (1993). "Paul Rainford on bus branding". Design (533): 43.
The Clapham Omnibus is the shape of things to come. Run by London General (an LT company) on route 88 between Clapham Common and Oxford Circus, this single-decker, Wigan-built Volvo B10B model sports its own jaunty graphics, designed by the Best Impressions consultancy
- ^ Lyons, Mark (8 August 2022). "Stockwell". The London Bus. Vol. 9. Stamford: Key Publishing. pp. 16–21.
- ^ 2003 Bus Tender Result Transport For London
- ^ 2010 Bus Tender Result Transport For London
- ^ Press Release Transport For London
- ^ "Confirmed: C2 bus route WILL be axed".
- ^ Route 88 Map Transport for London
External links
edit
Media related to London Buses route 88 at Wikimedia Commons- Timetable
