London Buses route 167 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. Running between Ilford and

Loughton station Loughton () is a London Underground station in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is entirely above ground, and platforms are accessed by staircases which rise from ground level. It is served by the Central line and lies between Buckhurst ...

, it is operated by

Stagecoach London Stagecoach London is a major bus operator in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach and operates services under contract to Transport for London mostly in East and South East London as well as some services into Central London. It i ...

History

In 1986, the operation of the route was put out to tender, and transferred from

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...

to the

Eastern National Omnibus Company Eastern National was a bus company operating in south-east England, primarily in Essex, from 1929 to the 1990s. Early history Eastern National Omnibus Company commenced operating in 1929 as a joint venture between the London and North Easter ...

. Upon being re-tendered, on 7 March 1992 the route passed to

Grey-Green Grey-Green was a bus and coach operator in England. It was based in Stamford Hill and operated in London and the East of England. History Grey-Green can trace its origins back over a century to the foundation of George Ewer's horse carriage ...

. Upon being re-tendered, on 9 March 2002 route 167 passed to

Docklands Buses Docklands Buses is a bus company operating in East London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. History Docklands Buses was formed by Harry Blundred's Transit Holdings in 1988 ...

. It was included in the September 2006 sale of Docklands Buses to

Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...

. Docklands Buses retained when re-tendered with a new contract commencing in March 2007.

Blue Triangle Blue Triangle is a bus company operating services in East London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates most services under contract to Transport for London. It is the operator of the East London Transit service. History ...

successfully tendered to retain the route with a new contract commencing on 10 March 2012. In November 2015,

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. It has 75 councillors, elected from 70 divisions, and is currently controlled by the Conservative Party. The council meets at County Hall ...

announced that it would withdraw its subsidy for the route. Concerns were immediately raised from local residents and the headteacher of

Davenant Foundation School Davenant Foundation School is a Christian Ecumenical secondary school, founded in 1680, currently in Loughton, Essex, England. History Foundation in Whitechapel In February 1680 the Reverend Ralph Davenant, rector of St Mary's Whitechape ...

, who said the routes were used by many schoolchildren. On 11 March 2017 the route was withdrawn between

and Debden station .

took over operation of the route on the same date from its Barking garage. Following a question from

Caroline Russell Caroline Russell, Lady Keating (born 10 August 1962) is a British politician and activist serving as Leader of the Green Party in the London Assembly since October 2018, and a Member of the London Assembly (AM) for Londonwide since May 2016. ...

, the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

stated that it would cost more than £500,000 per year to keep operating the 167 route to Debden, and the predicted fare income would only cover 40% of that cost. Later that year, colour-coded branding was introduced on the majority of vehicles running the route. During the summers of 2018 and 2019, the route was to be diverted, because of the reconstruction of Alderton Bridge, via new roads, Brook Road and Brooklyn Avenue, to rejoin the A121.

Current route

Route 167 operates via these primary locations:Route 167 Map
Transport for London * Ilford * Gants Hill station *

Barkingside Barkingside is an area in Ilford, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It includes the major road junction of ''Fullwell Cross'' which also gives its name to the locality near that roundabout. The area is situated 10.6 miles (17km) north east of ...

* Chigwell station * Buckhurst Hill station *

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:167, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in Epping Forest District Transport in the London Borough of Redbridge