London Buses route 73 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
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish.
The ...
and
Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station.
The junction opened in 1819 as part of the Regent Street development under John Nash, ...
, 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
![London Bus route 73 Oxford_Street 054](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/London_Bus_route_73_Oxford_Street_054.jpg)
Route 73 commenced on 30 November 1914, and originally ran from
King's Cross to
Barnes
Barnes may refer to:
People
* Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name)
Places
United Kingdom
*Barnes, London, England
**Barnes railway station
** Barnes Bridge railway station
** Barnes Railway Bri ...
via
Euston Road
Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family ...
,
Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden.
The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tub ...
,
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...
,
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End.
...
,
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
and
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
...
.
By 1949, the route had been extended at both ends to operate from
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish.
The ...
to
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, ...
. It was extended further west to
Hounslow
Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...
on 26 November 1958, replacing
route 33. This latter route was reinstated between Hammersmith and Richmond in 1966, with route 73 curtailed at Hammersmith on weekdays, continuing to Richmond on Saturdays and Hounslow on Sundays.
The weekend service was cut back to
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
in October 1978, and back to Hammersmith in September 1982.
[ On 13 August 1988, the route was diverted at ]Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to its major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was designed by Decimus Burton. Six streets converge at the junc ...
to Victoria bus station
Victoria bus station is a bus station outside London Victoria station. It is managed only by Transport for London. In 1970, work commenced on a substantial roof canopy. This was demolished in April 2003 as part of the station's refurbishment.
...
, being replaced by route 10 west of Hyde Park Corner.
In August 1994, the route—at the time operated by Leaside Buses—was used to test satellite monitoring of buses in an effort to reduce bunching.
On 4 September 2004, route 73 was converted to one-man operation, with the 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 replaced by Mercedes-Benz O530G articulated buses
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 ...
. This change was intended to improve peak capacity and decrease boarding times; however, a Transport for London advertising campaign to this effect was prohibited by the Advertising Standards Agency as the claims were misleading. Fare evasion
Fare evasion or fare dodging, fare violation, rarely called ticket evasion, is the act of travelling on public transport without paying by deliberately not buying a required ticket to travel (having had the chance to do so). It is a problem in man ...
on the route increased after the introduction of articulated vehicles, leading some passengers to nickname the route 'seventy-free'. The route was used to test the iBus system in 2007.
On 3 September 2011, Arriva London commenced a new contract with operation transferred to Stamford Hill garage and the route converted back to double-deck operation with 20 hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
Wright Eclipse Gemini 2
The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a Low-floor bus, low-floor double-decker bus body that was built by Wrightbus since 2001, based on the single-deck Wright Eclipse design. The second-generation Eclipse Gemini 2 was launched in 2009, followed by the ...
-bodied Volvo B5LH
The Volvo B5LH (initially known as the Volvo B5L Hybrid, also known as the Volvo BRLH) is a low-floor hybrid electric bus chassis for both single-decker buses and double-decker buses manufactured by Volvo Buses, Volvo since 2008. It is the basis ...
s and the balance diesel Wright Gemini 2
The Wright Gemini 2 is a double-decker bus built by Wrightbus between 2009 and 2013. It was announced in December 2007 but was not named until 2008. It was constructed as a semi-integral vehicle, with chassis modules provided by VDL. The bodywo ...
-bodied VDL DB300s. The route was discontinued between Seven Sisters and Stoke Newington. In December 2012, route 73 was converted to full hybrid operation with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2-bodied Volvo B5LHs. New Routemaster
The New Routemaster, originally referred to as the New Bus for London and colloquially as the Borismaster or Boris Bus, is a low-floor Diesel fuel, diesel double-decker bus operated in London, England. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufa ...
s were introduced on 16 May 2015.
The bus route passes many tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
s such as the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
and Clissold Park
Clissold Park is an open space in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bounded by Greenway Close (to the north), Church Street (south), Green Lanes (west) and Queen Elizabeth's Walk (east); the south-east corner abuts St ...
. ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' called the route one of the "best routes for sightseeing on a shoestring". In August 2014, two buses on the route were fitted with equipment designed to enhance bus drivers' awareness of pedestrians and cyclists as part of a six-week trial. The route was chosen because it was "most likely to encounter packed seas of distracted shopping people and cyclists".
Route 73 was withdrawn between Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station.
The junction opened in 1819 as part of the Regent Street development under John Nash, ...
and Victoria on 17 June 2017, with route 390 replacing the withdrawn section.
Due to the closure of Stamford Hill (SF) on the 9th of November 2020 the route was passed to Clapton (CT) to join routes 38, N38, 242, N242, 253 and N253
Current route
Route 73 operates via these primary locations:Route 73 Map
Transport for London
*
Stoke Newington Common
Stoke Newington Common is an open space in the London Borough of Hackney. It lies between Brooke Road to the south and Northwold Road to the north, straddling a railway line and the busy Rectory Road. The Common is in area.
The Common was orig ...
*
Stoke Newington Town Hall
Stoke Newington Town Hall is a municipal building in Church Street, Stoke Newington, London. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
The building was commissioned to replace the council offices in Milton Grove which had been designed by E. F ...
*
Newington Green
Newington Green is an open space in North London that straddles the border between Islington and Hackney. It gives its name to the surrounding area, roughly bounded by Ball's Pond Road to the south, Petherton Road to the west, Green Lanes and ...
*
Essex Road station
Essex Road is a National Rail station in Canonbury in Greater London, England, and is on the Northern City Line between and , down the line from , and is in Travelcard Zone 2. The station is at the junction of Essex Road, Canonbury Road and ...
*
Islington Green
Islington Green is a small triangle of open land at the convergence of Upper Street and Essex Road (once called Lower Street) in the London Borough of Islington. It roughly marks the northern boundary between the modern district of Angel and Isli ...
*
Angel station
''Angel Station'' is the ninth album released by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, released in 1979. Several line-up changes were made for this album. Ex-Wings drummer Geoff Britton replaced founding drummer Chris Slade and Steve Waller replaced g ...
*
King's Cross station
King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the busiest stations in the United King ...
*
St Pancras station
St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...
*
Euston bus station
Euston Bus Station serves the Euston area of Camden, London, England. The station is owned and maintained by Transport for London.
It is situated next to Euston main line railway station and above Euston Underground station and near Eust ...
for
Euston station
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...
*
Euston Square station
*
Warren Street station
*
Goodge Street station
*
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 ...
*
Great Titchfield Street
Great Titchfield Street is a street in the West End of London. It runs north from Oxford Street to Greenwell Street, just short of the busy A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. It lies within the informally designated London area of Fitzrovi ...
/
Oxford Circus station
Oxford Circus is a London Underground station serving Oxford Circus at the junction of Regent Street and Oxford Street, with entrances on all four corners of the intersection. The station is an interchange between the Bakerloo, Central and Vic ...
*
Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station.
The junction opened in 1819 as part of the Regent Street development under John Nash, ...
''Holles Street''
References
External links
*
Timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:073, London buses route
Bus routes in London
Transport in the London Borough of Camden
Transport in the London Borough of Hackney
Transport in the London Borough of Haringey
Transport in the London Borough of Islington
Transport in the City of Westminster