London Buses route 521 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 Waterloo and

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

stations, it is operated by

London General London General is a bus company operating in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal ...

and is one of two Red Arrow branded services. In 2016, it became the first battery electric bus route in London, along with route 507.

History

Route 521 commenced operating on 18 July 1992 as part of the '' Red Arrow'' network of bus routes aimed at commuters in Central London linking some of the capital's main railway termini. On 2 June 2002, along with route 507, the route was the first bus route in London to be converted to

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usua ...

with Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaros. During late 2003, early 2004, a series of onboard fires on Mercedes-Benz O530Gs led to withdrawal of the entire fleet, while Mercedes-Benz made some modifications. During this period limited services operated using a variety of different buses on route 521. In September 2009, as part of the move to replace London's articulated buses, the O530Gs were replaced by Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaros. Another criticism of articulated buses was the low number of seats, with only 49 per vehicle. A standard rigid Citaro has 44 seats, however the new ones for route 521 have just 21, with room supposedly for up to 76 standers, leading to criticism the new buses were "cattle trucks" and even more crowded than the buses they replaced. In December 2013, two trial BYD electric buses were introduced. In September 2016,

Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...

bodied BYD electric buses began to operate the route, making it and route 521 the first battery electric bus routes in London. In September 2016, the buses on this route and on the 507 have received new digital route displays. In 2021, the frequency of the service at peak times was halved from 24 buses per hour to 12.

Future withdrawal

On 23 November 2022, it was announced that route 521 would be withdrawn following a consultation, with routes 59 and

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being rerouted to replace it either side of St Paul's. These changes will be implemented by the end of 2023.

Current route

Route 521 operates via these primary locations:Route 521 Map
Transport for London *

Waterloo station Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

'' *

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it in central London, England, within the City of Westminster. The street starts Points of the compass, east-northeast of Charing Cros ...

(To Waterloo only. Buses to London Bridge skip Aldwych stops via the Strand Underpass, before calling at Holborn) *

Holborn station Holborn ( ) is a London Underground station in Holborn, Central London, located at the junction of High Holborn and Kingsway. It is served by the Central and Piccadilly lines. On the Central line the station is between Tottenham Court Road an ...

* Chancery Lane station *

Holborn Circus Holborn Circus is a five-way junction at the western extreme of the City of London, specifically between Holborn (St Andrew) and its Hatton Garden (St Alban) part. Its main, east–west, route is the inchoate A40 road. It was designed by the en ...

City Thameslink station City Thameslink is a central London railway station within the City of London, with entrances on Ludgate Hill and Holborn Viaduct. The station is on the Thameslink route between to the south and to the north. The station opened in 1990 to ...

* St Paul's station * Mansion House station *

Cannon Street station Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is on ...

* Monument station *

London Bridge bus station London Bridge bus station serves the London Bridge area of the city of London and is situated at the London Bridge tube and rail station. There are three stands at the station which are situated on the station forecourt. London Buses routes ...

for

London Bridge station London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The m ...

References

External links

*
Timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:521, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Camden Transport in the London Borough of Southwark Transport in the City of London Transport in the City of Westminster