London Buses route 69 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Running between

Walthamstow Central Walthamstow Central is a London Underground and London Overground interchange station in the town of Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, north-east London. It is the northern terminus of the Victoria line following Blackhorse ...

and

Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...

stations, it is operated by

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 ...

History

Introduced in February 1960 to replace Trolleybus route 669 Stratford to North Woolwich Ferry, Route 69 was extended in April 1960 from Stratford to Chingford Mount and, as part of London Transport's 'Reshaping' plan in 1968, further extended to

Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow to the ...

Station. Upon the sale of London Buses' East London subsidiary in 1994, the route passed to Stagecoach, then operating between

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

Central and

North Woolwich North Woolwich is an area in the London Borough of Newham in East London. It is located on the northern bank of the River Thames, across the river from Woolwich. It is connected to Woolwich by the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel. De ...

. Upon being re-tendered in 1999, it was retained 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 ...

with a new southern terminus, London City Airport. The North Woolwich section being covered by new route 474. The contract was again renewed, as a 24 hour sevice, commencing on 30 April 2004. On 17 December 2005, it was curtailed from

London City Airport London City Airport is a regional airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the Borough of Newham, approximately east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the twin centres of London's financial ...

Canning Town station Canning Town is a London Underground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and London Buses station in Canning Town in London, England. It is designed as an intermodal metro and bus station, fully opening in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extensio ...

as part of a series of changes in connection with the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Londo ...

being extended. Stagecoach

commenced a further contract on 30 April 2011. In October 2015, three Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMCs with inductive wireless charging technology, which allows its batteries to receive a charging boost when stationary at specially equipped bus stops entered service on route 69. When next tendered, it was awarded to

Tower Transit A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifica ...

. The new contract commenced on 6 February. In 2012, vandals damaged a bus by setting it on fire. The bus,

Spirit of London 19000 ''Spirit of London'' is an Alexander Dennis Enviro400 double-decker bus which entered service in London in October 2005. Originally carrying fleet number 18500, ''Spirit of London'' was built as the replacement for the bus destroyed i ...

, was a tribute to the victims of the 2005 London bombings. The police later arrested some teenagers. The route transferred from Tower Transit to Docklands Buses on 1 May 2021.

Current route

Route 69 operates via these primary locations:Route 69 Map
Transport for London *

Walthamstow Central station Walthamstow Central is a London Underground and London Overground interchange station in the town of Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, north-east London. It is the northern terminus of the Victoria line following Blackhorse ...

Baker's Arms Bakers Arms is an intersection and arguably a district on the boundary of Leyton and Walthamstow, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is named after a former public house which stood at the junction of High Road Leyton, Hoe Street (bo ...

* Leyton Midland Road station *

Leyton station Leyton is a London Underground station in Leyton, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, East London. Located on Leyton High Road, adjacent to the A12, the station is on the Central line between two stations assigned to two fare zones � ...

* Maryland station *

Stratford bus station Stratford bus station is a bus station and taxi rank in Stratford, London, Stratford in London, England. The station is owned and maintained by Transport for London. An entrance to Stratford station is located adjacent to the bus station, while ...

* Plaistow station *

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:069, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Newham Transport in the London Borough of Waltham Forest