London Buses route 65 is a
Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between
Ealing Broadway station
Ealing Broadway is a major single-level interchange station in Ealing in London, England. It is in the London Borough of Ealing, West London, and is served by the London Underground and also National Rail on the Great Western Main Line. On the ...
and
Kingston, it is operated by
London United.
History
![Kew Road - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Kew_Road_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1846321_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Route 65 originally ran from
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was histor ...
''Argyle Road'' (now Scotch Common) to
Leatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...
via
Ealing Broadway
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was histor ...
,
South Ealing,
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
,
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
Petersham,
Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...
,
Kingston,
Tolworth
Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Long Ditton, New Malden, Kingston, Surbiton, Berrylands, Hinchley Wood, ...
,
Hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
and
Chessington
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. Th ...
. In the summer months, the route was extended from Kingston to Chessington Zoo. It was initially operated from Kingston (K) and
Turnham Green
Turnham Green is a public park on Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London, and the neighbourhood and conservation area around it; historically, it was one of the four medieval villages in the Chiswick area, the others being Old Chiswick, Little S ...
(V) garages, using STL-class AEC Regents and, after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
AEC Regent III RT
AEC may refer to:
Organizations
* Catalan Space Agency (Agència Espacial de Catalunya)
* Ars Electronica Center, Linz, Austria
* Art Ensemble of Chicago, US
Governance
* African Economic Community
* African Energy Chamber
* Alaska Engineering ...
s,
Leyland Titans, and
Routemasters. In 1946, "pay-as-you-enter" experiments were carried out on route 65, running between Ealing Broadway and Leatherhead.
In the 1960s, the southernmost section between
Chessington Zoo
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, with the theme park being developed alo ...
and Leatherhead was withdrawn and replaced by
route 71. In 1975, the elderly AEC Regent III RT were replaced by
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, and the route extended from Chessington Zoo to Chessington ''Fox & Hounds'' during Monday to Friday peak hours.
In February 1979, the route was temporarily split in two in
Petersham, due to a large sinkhole nicknamed the '
Petersham Hole'. Regular through service did not resume until September 1980.
In 1984, the northern section to Argyle Road was cut back to
Ealing Broadway. In 1985, the 65 was converted to one-person operation using
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, all based at Norbiton.
In 1987, the route was reduced further, with the southern portion of the route to Chessington cut back to Kingston. By this time,
route tendering had been established in London, and 65 passed to Kingston Bus, a low-cost unit established by
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...
.
Upon being re-tendered, the route was awarded to
Armchair Passenger Transport
Armchair Passenger Transport was a bus and coach charter operator in London.
History
Armchair Passenger Transport was established as a coach operator in November 1960, being sold to EH Mundy in 1974. In June 1990 it became a London Regional Tra ...
. However a delay in the delivery of new buses resulted in
London & Country operating it for a few months from 29 September 1990, mainly using
Leyland Atlantean
The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus
A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asi ...
s from distant
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
and Leatherhead garages.
Armchair finally took over in January 1991, using a batch of seventeen
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 plus three second-hand Atlanteans. It retained the route upon it being re-tendered in 1996, and subsequently replaced the ageing Atlanteans with new
Northern Counties Palatine
The Northern Counties Palatine was a step-entrance 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties from 1988 to 1999 in Wigan, England.
The Palatine was built mainly on Leyland Olympian and Volvo Olympian chassis, althou ...
II bodied
Volvo Olympian
The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engined 2-axle and 3-axle double decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo at its Irvine, Scotland factory. The first was built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian.
History ...
s. A variety of other buses worked the route during Armchair's tenure, including
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
bodied Leyland Olympians after Armchair lost
route 260, two
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 new to
East Kent Road Car Company
The East Kent Road Car Company Ltd was a bus company formed in 1916 and based in Canterbury, Kent. The company operated bus and coach services in Kent. In 1993 it was one of the first companies to be acquired by the Stagecoach Group, which e ...
.
[Wharmby, Matthew, ''The London Metrobus'' (Ian Allan Publishing, 2009). ]
Upon being re-tendered, the route passed to
London United on 29 June 2002 with 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
Dennis Trident 2
The Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally manufactured by Dennis, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow. It was built by TransBus after Dennis was incorporated into the group in 2001, th ...
s from
Fulwell garage.
Upon being re-tendered, it was retained by London United with a new contract commencing on 4 July 2009, that saw the section between Kingston and Chessington reinstated for night-time services only. London United retained the route when next tendered with the new contract to commence on 2 July 2016.
In 2022, the bus fleet was electrified, with the introduction of
Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City is a low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2018, produced as an alternative to the standard Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC bodywork. The Enviro400 City is ...
battery electric bus
A battery electric bus is an electric bus that is driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries. Many trolleybuses use batteries as an auxiliary or emergency power source.
In 2018, the National Renewable Energy Laborator ...
es.
Current route
Route 65 operates via these primary locations:
Route 65 Map
Transport for London
*Ealing Broadway station
Ealing Broadway is a major single-level interchange station in Ealing in London, England. It is in the London Borough of Ealing, West London, and is served by the London Underground and also National Rail on the Great Western Main Line. On the ...
* South Ealing station
*Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
''High Street''
*Kew Bridge station
Kew Bridge railway station is a railway station in Brentford, the London Borough of Hounslow, and is in Travelcard Zone 3. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. The station was named after the nearby Kew ...
*Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
''for Kew Gardens station''
* Richmond station
*Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
''Bus Station''
* Petersham
*Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...
*Kingston station Kingston station may refer to:
Australia
* Kingston railway station, Brisbane
* Kingston railway station, Victoria
* Canberra railway station, Australian Capital Territory (locally known as Kingston station)
Canada
* Kingston station (Ontario)
* ...
* Kingston ''Cromwell Road Bus Station
Kingston upon Thames in South West London, England is served by two bus stations as well as a large number of on-street bus stops. Due to the Kingston one-way system, the various stops and bus stations are physically separate, however passengers ...
''
References
External links
*
Timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:065, London buses route
Bus routes in London
Transport in the London Borough of Ealing
Transport in the London Borough of Hounslow
Transport in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Transport in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames