London Buses route 242 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

Homerton University Hospital Homerton University Hospital is a teaching hospital in Homerton in the London Borough of Hackney. It is managed by Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Homerton Fever Hospital, which op ...

and

Aldgate bus station Aldgate bus station serves the Aldgate area of the City of London, England. The station is owned and maintained by Transport for London and located directly south of Aldgate tube station. Also known as Minories bus station or lay-by, it was th ...

, 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 ...

. In December 1998, it became the first double-decker route in London to solely use

low-floor bus A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between the ground and the floor of the bus at one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. A bus with a partial low floor may also be referred to as a low- ...

es.

History

Route 242 was introduced in February 1998 between

and

Tottenham Court Road station Tottenham Court Road is a London Underground and Elizabeth line station in St Giles in the West End of London. The station is served by the Central line, the Elizabeth line and the branch of the Northern line. The station is located at St Gil ...

, replacing routes 22A and 22B. In December 1998, the introduction of

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

DAF DB250 The VDL DB250 (originally the DAF DB250) was a twin-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by VDL Bus & Coach. DB250 The DAF DB250 was launched in October 1991 and originally only available with Optare Spectra bodywork with 260 built, mai ...

buses on the route made it the first double-decker route in London to solely use accessible,

es. In 2004 it became a 24-hour service with night bus route N242 services that followed the same route renumbered 242. The route of the bus was criticised by

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

members for its use of narrow streets. In 2017, the route was diverted to terminate at St Paul's, before being cut back on 15 June 2019 to

with a service frequency reduction. The diversion to Aldgate was criticised for the reduction in access to the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

and

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

for residents. The reduction in service frequency was criticised for its impacts on the deprived Clapton Park Estate, an area only served by the route. The night route continues to serve Tottenham Court Road station, and from 15 June 2019 was renumbered route N242. Upon being re-tendered in 2002, 2009 and 2016, the route was retained by

Current route

Route 242 operates via these primary locations: *

Clapton Square Clapton Square is the second largest garden square in the London Borough of Hackney, located in Lower Clapton, Clapton, London, Clapton. It is lined by buildings on three sides. Its Conservation Area designated in 1969 – extended in 1 ...

* Hackney Central station * Dalston Junction station ''bus station'' * Haggerston station *

Hoxton station Hoxton is a train station, station on the East London line in the London Borough of Hackney, Greater London. It is on the Kingsland Viaduct and served by London Overground. The station entrance is on Geffrye Street near Dunloe Street and Cremer S ...

Museum of the Home The Museum of the Home, formerly the Geffrye Museum, is a free museum in the 18th-century Grade I-listed former almshouses on Kingsland Road in Shoreditch, London. The museum explores home and home life from 1600 to the present day with gallerie ...

Shoreditch High Street station Shoreditch High Street is a London Overground station located on Bethnal Green Road in Shoreditch in East London. It is served by the East London Line between and with services running either to , or , , West Croydon, , and is in Travelcard ...

Aldgate East station Aldgate East is a London Underground station on Whitechapel High Street in Whitechapel, in London, England. It takes its name from the City of London ward of Aldgate, the station lying to the east of the ward (and the City). It is on the Hamm ...

Previous use

The historic route 242 ran between

Potters Bar Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. In 2022 the population was ...

and

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and E ...

, operated by London Transport. Following privatisation in the late 1980s, the route is now run by

Metroline Metroline is a bus company operating services in Greater London and south Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Corporation and operates services under contract to Transport for London. As at March 2021, the fleet consisted of 1,5 ...

as a commercial operation, as the route is outside of the Transport for London area.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:242, London Buses Route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Hackney Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Transport in the City of London