London Buses route 152

London Buses route 152 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between New Malden and Pollards Hill, it is operated by London General.

152
Overview
OperatorLondon General
GarageMerton (AL)
Peak vehicle requirement15
Route
StartNew Malden
ViaRaynes Park
Wimbledon
Colliers Wood
Mitcham
EndPollards Hill
Service
LevelDaily

History
Travel London Plaxton Pointer 2 bodied Dennis Dart SLF in July 2008
Abellio London Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TL in Mitcham in October 2014

Route 152 originally operated from Mitcham Cricket Green to Kingston via Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon, Raynes Park, New Malden, Tolworth, Hook, and Surbiton. On 27 May 1936, it was diverted at Hook to Hampton Court station via Hinchley Wood.[1]

On 27 June 1951, route 152 was extended to Feltham station via Teddington, with Kingston garage gaining an allocation in addition to the existing Merton garage allocation. The route reverted to sole operation by Merton garage from 9 May 1962.[1] It continued to run to Mitcham, running every 20 minutes.[2]

The route reverted to sole operation by Merton garage from 9 May 1962. On 24 January 1970, it was diverted at Scilly Isles to Esher in lieu of Feltham. From the same date, the service was converted from AEC Regent III RT operation to one-man operation using single-deck AEC Merlins. From 18 May 1974, the service reverted to double-deck operation using Daimler Fleetlines. From 27 September 1980, the route was diverted at Tolworth to Surbiton station instead of Hampton Court, leaving the section of route to Hampton Court unserved except for some school journeys renumbered 152A. Under the major service cuts of 4 September 1982, single-deck operation returned to the route using Leyland Nationals.[1]

On 27 June 1987, route 152 was withdrawn between Surbiton and New Malden, diverting instead via route 131 to Kingston. On 26 November 1988, operation transferred to Sutton garage as part of the 'Sutton Bus' local tender unit, but operation gradually moved back to Merton garage. On 30 November 1991 Merton garage resumed full control, and the route was converted to single-deck midibus operation using Optare MetroRiders.[3] This change was made in order to facilitate an extension of the route to Pollards Hill via Eastfields Estate,[1][4] an area long-deprived of a bus service and beyond the remit of larger vehicles due to roadwidth restrictions, one of the factors in earlier proposals such as the re-routing of route 118 being shelved.

On 30 November 1996, the route was converted to low floor operation with Dennis Darts. Upon being re-tendered, the route passed to Mitcham Belle on 1 December 2001. Route 152 was included in the 27 August 2004 sale of Mitcham Belle's Transport for London bus contracts to Centra.[5]

Upon being re-tendered in 2006, route 152 passed to Travel London.[6] Route 152 was included in the 21 May 2009 sale of Travel London to Abellio London[7][8][9] who were awarded a further contract in May 2011.[10]

In November 2014, a bus on the route caught fire, becoming the third bus to do so in a week.[11] Abellio was accused of 'shocking maintenance'.[12] The fire was believed to have been caused by the engine overheating.[12]

When next re-tendered the route was awarded to London General who commenced operating it from Merton garage on 3 December 2016.[13][14][15][16]

Current route

Route 152 operates via these primary locations:[17]

References
  1. Ian Armstrong (9 December 2015). "Route History".
  2. April 1958 Red Book. London Transport.
  3. Image showing Optare MetroRider, MRL203 at Pollards Hill (Image).
  4. 16 March leaflet 1998. London Transport. 1998.
  5. Tfl announces new entrant to London bus market Transport for London 27 August 2004
  6. Bus tender results Route 152 Transport for London 9 February 2006
  7. National Express Group plc agreement to sell Travel London Archived 2 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine National Express Group 21 May 2009
  8. NatEx sells London bus business Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 22 May 2009
  9. NedRailways acquisition reinforces long term commitment to UK transport market Archived 18 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine NedRailways 9 June 2009
  10. Bus tender results Route 152 Transport for London 17 March 2011
  11. "Third bus in London catches fire this week". Evening Standard. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  12. "Bus driver accuses transport company of 'shocking maintenance' practice after two bus fires in same week". Wimbledon Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  13. Bus tender results Route 152 Transport for London 9 May 2016
  14. Routes Go-Ahead London
  15. "Arriva big winner in latest tender round" Coach & Bus Week issue 1241 17 May 2016 page 11
  16. "Arriva does well in route awards" Buses Magazine issue 736 July 2016 page 24
  17. Route Map Transport for London

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