London Buses route 8 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 Bow Church 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 ...

, it is operated 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 ...

History

Routemaster_RML2738_(SMK_738F),_6_March_2004

On 2 November 1908, the bus route number 8 was allocated to a previously un-numbered route operating between the Bush Hotel in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

and Seven Kings High Road in Ilford. On 20 June 1912, routes 8 and 25 exchanged eastern ends at Bank, so that from then on route 8 operated between

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

and

Old Ford Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea. History Administration and boundaries Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, aroun ...

. This situation continued, apart from various westward extensions of the route to

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

and

Alperton Alperton () is an area of north west London, England, within the London Borough of Brent. It forms the southern part of the town of Wembley and is west north-west of Charing Cross. It includes a handful of high-rise and many mid-rise buildings ...

, until 18 July 1992. At that time route 8 again was re-routed over route 25, and now operated from

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. ...

to Bow Church via Old Ford, the same routing as the 1912 version of route 25. The western end of the route beyond

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

became 98. On 3 January 1933, AEC Regent STL buses were used from Clay Hall garage. In May 1949, Leyland Titan RTWs were introduced on route 8. In January 1958, the third prototype

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 ...

began operation on route 8 between Willesdan and Old Ford. On 6 June 1959, the first three production Routemasters to enter service in London (RM5, RM7 and RM24) debuted on route 8 from Willesden garage. On 27 June 2009, route 8 was curtailed west of

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, ...

. Route C2 was extended to Victoria station as a replacement. The changes were part of Transport for London's commitment to the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

to reduce the bus flow in

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 ...

by 10% in each of 2009 and 2010.

has successfully retained route 8 with new contracts starting on 26 June 2004, 27 June 2009 and 28 June 2014.

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 28 June 2014. The rear platform remains closed at all times except for when the bus is at bus stops. In August 2019, the middle and rear doors on New Routemasters on route 8 became exit only with passengers only able to board through the front door.

Current route

Route 8 operates via these primary locations:Route Map
Transport for London * Bow Church *

''Parnell Road'' * Bethnal Green station *

Brick Lane Brick Lane (Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest ...

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 ...

Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

Wormwood Street Wormwood Street is a short street in the City of London which runs between London Wall at its western end and a junction with Bishopsgate and Camomile Street in the east. It is a dual carriageway which forms part of the A1211 route between B ...

Bank station Bank and Monument are interlinked London Underground and Docklands Light Railway, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) stations that form a public transport complex spanning the length of King William Street, London, King William Street in the City of ...

* St Paul's station *

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 ...

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 ...

* Chancery Lane station *

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 ...

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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:008, London Buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Camden Transport in the City of London Transport in the London Borough of Hackney Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets