London Buses route 2 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 Norwood garage and

Marylebone station Marylebone station ( ) is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern ter ...

, it is operated by

Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...

History

Route 2 was the last West End bus route that was operated by step-entrance buses other than

AEC Routemaster The AEC Routemaster is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport Executive, London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The ...

s. Ironically, it was also the first London bus route to use the Routemaster. In the 1950s, the route was run using

AEC Regent III The AEC Regent III (also known as Regent 3 or Regent Mark III) was a type of double-decker bus chassis manufactured by AEC. It was mainly built for operation outside London and overseas. It could be fitted with AEC's 9.6-litre diesel engine ( ...

s. On 8 February 1956, the first prototype AEC Routemaster ran on route 2 between Golders Green and Crystal Palace and after undergoing modifications the following year, it passed to route 260. On 29 January 1994, route 2 was converted to one man operation with the

s replaced by

Leyland Olympian The Leyland Olympian was a 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1980 and 1993. It was the last Leyland bus model in production. Construction The Olympian had the same chassis and running gear as t ...

s and

MCW Metrobus The MCW Metrobus is a two and three-axle double-decker bus manufactured by Metro Cammell Weymann (MCW) between 1977 and 1989, with over 4,000 built. The original MkI was superseded by the MkII which had a symmetrical windscreen with an arched ...

es. In 2003, brand new

Alexander ALX400 The Alexander ALX400 (later known as the TransBus ALX400 and the Alexander Dennis ALX400) was a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders (later by TransBus International/Alexander Dennis). It was one of the ALX-seri ...

bodied

Volvo B7TL The Volvo B7TL is a Low-floor bus, low-floor double-decker bus chassis which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of the Volvo Olympian (its 3-axle version was replaced by the Volvo Super Olympian). It was built as the United King ...

s were introduced. Conversion to the type took place a few months before the contract was renewed. In 2015, the route received a part allocation of

Enviro 400 The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400, Dennis Trident (from which the Enviro400 was de ...

's from route 341. Some of its longer 10.6 metre Volvo B7TL's were transferred to Edmonton Garage for use on route 123. It is operated out of Norwood garage with a peak vehicle requirement of 24 buses. In 2021, the peak frequency of the service was reduced from eight buses per hour to seven.

Current route

Route 2 operates via these primary locations:Route 2 Map
Transport for London * Norwood Garage * West Norwood station * Tulse Hill station * Brixton station * Stockwell station *

Vauxhall bus station Vauxhall bus station is a bus station in Vauxhall, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is operated by London Buses and owned and maintained by Transport for London, and is the second busiest bus station in the city. The station, which is adja ...

Vauxhall Bridge Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. Opened in 1906, it ...

*Bessborough Gardens ''for Pimlico station'' * Victoria station * Hyde Park Corner station * Marble Arch station *

Baker Street station Baker Street is a London Underground station at the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road in the City of Westminster. It is one of the original stations of the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the world's first underground railway, opened ...

References

External links

*
Timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:002, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Croydon Transport in the London Borough of Lambeth Transport in the City of Westminster