PlusBus route 812 was a circuit bus route in Greater London, serving Finsbury and Islington. Unusually for a bus route entirely in London, it was tendered and subsidised by

Islington London Borough Council Islington London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities: Finsbury Metropolitan Borough Co ...

rather than Transport for London, and operated under a London Service permit. For this reason, buses used on this route were in a yellow livery, rather than the usual red, and it did not charge standard London fares.

Oyster Cards The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...

were not accepted anywhere on the route, but

Freedom Pass Freedom Pass is a concessionary travel scheme, which began in 1973, to provide free travel to residents of Greater London, England, who are aged 66 and over (the age of eligibility increased progressively from 60 in 2010 to 66 in 2020) or who ...

es and walk up cash fares where accepted. It was operated by

HCT Group HCT Group was a social enterprise providing transport services and community services in several areas of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1982 as Hackney Community Transport in the London Borough of Hackney, to provide transport services f ...

. Despite the name, the route was not part of the

Plusbus Plusbus is an add-on ticket, which can be purchased with National Rail train tickets in the United Kingdom. It allows unlimited travel on participating bus and tram operators' services in the whole urban area of rail-served towns and cities. ...

scheme.

History

Route 812 was introduced by CT Plus in 2007. Together with similar route 816, it replaced a group of routes which previously ran under the Plus Bus name. Funding for the route was withdrawn at the end of 2007, leading to fears of cancellation, but local councillors stepped in to fund the route. In 2010, the route carried 27,000 passengers per year. The route was increased in frequency from two buses per hour to three in 2009. New 12-seat

Volkswagen Transporter The Volkswagen Transporter, based on the Volkswagen Group's T platform, now in its seventh generation, refers to a series of vans produced for over 70 years and marketed worldwide. The T series is now considered an official Volkswagen Group aut ...

minibuses with

Bluebird Tucana The Mellor Tucana (previously known as the Bluebird Tucana) is a small wheelchair-accessible minibus manufactured by Mellor Coachcraft in England. Tucana The Bluebird Tucana entered production in 2005 fitted to the Volkswagen Transporter T5 c ...

bodies were introduced to the route in 2010. The route was faced with withdrawal in 2011 due to Islington London Borough Council budget cuts. To support the route, Transport for London provided additional funding. In March 2020, HCT Group temporarily withdrew the route as a result of low usage amid the COVID-19 national lockdown. On 26 August 2022, HCT Group ceased operating the route citing financial difficulties.

Route

Route 812 operated via these primary locations:Route 812 map
HCT Group *

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It li ...

*Prebend Street * Islington * Clerkenwell * Exmouth Market * Finsbury *Featherstone Street for

Old Street Old Street is a street in inner north-east Central London that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shoreditch High ...

(''one way only'') * St Luke's (''one way only'') * Finsbury * Exmouth Market * Clerkenwell * Islington *Prebend Street *

References

External links

TimetabeAccessible Buses
on

website {{London Bus Routes

812 __NOTOC__ Year 812 ( DCCCXII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 11 – Ex-emperor Staurakios, a son of Nikephoros I, di ...