London Buses route 26 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

Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in east London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are sometimes a ...

and

Waterloo station Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...

, 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

Bus turning into Strand from Lancaster Place, London (2) (geograph 4842321)

On 18 July 1992, route 26 was introduced to replace the withdrawn section of route 6 between

and

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it in central London, England, within the City of Westminster. The street starts Points of the compass, east-northeast of Charing Cros ...

, running between Hackney Wick and

, from Bow garage using Leyland Titans. Upon being re-tendered, on 25 June 2011 the route passed to

First London First London was a bus company operating services in east and west Greater London, England. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and operated buses under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in the late 1990s through the acquisition o ...

's Lea Interchange garage with

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 B9TL The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo from 2002 until 2018. It superseded the Volvo Super Olympian and the Volvo B7TL. The 2-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B5TL in 2014 and the 3-axle version has been sup ...

s. On 22 June 2013, route 26 was included in the sale of First London's Lea Interchange garage 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 ...

. When next tendered, it was awarded to

CT Plus 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 ...

with the new contract commencing on 27 February 2016. It is operated out of Ash Grove garage. On 27 August 2022, route 26 was included in the sale of CT Plus’ ‘red bus’ operations to Stagecoach London. On 23 November 2022, it was announced that a proposed rerouting of route 26 at Aldwych to serve

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

instead of Waterloo would be going ahead following a consultation; it will be implemented by the end of 2023.

Bomb incident

On 21 July 2005, would-be bomber

Muktar Said Ibrahim Muktar Said Ibrahim (born 24 January 1978), also known as Muktar Mohammed Said, was found guilty of involvement in the attempted 21 July attacks on London's public transport system in 2005. He attempted to detonate a device on a London bus and ...

attempted to explode a device contained in his rucksack on a number 26 bus on

Hackney Road Hackney Road is a London arterial route running from Shoreditch Church in London Borough of Hackney to Cambridge Heath in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The route runs along the northern edge of Bethnal Green and southern edge of Hoxto ...

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

near

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

. A small explosion on the top deck caused the vehicle's windows to explode, but the device did not detonate as intended and there was no significant damage. The vehicle, operated by

, was stopped and a 200-yard safety cordon established while the bomb was defused. Ibrahim left the bus following the failed attack, but was later caught. He and five other men were taken to court in January 2007, and his DNA was found on a battery used in the bomb. He was convicted in July 2007 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Current route

Route 26 operates via these primary locations:Route 26 Map
Transport for London *

''St Mary of Eton Church'' *

South Hackney South Hackney is an area of Hackney in London, England within the Borough of Hackney. It is about northeast of Charing Cross. The Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy on the corner of Victoria Park Road and Lammas Walk utilises the buildings of ...

* Cambridge Heath station * Hoxton station *

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 ...

* Mansion House station *

St Paul's Churchyard St Paul's Churchyard is an area immediately around St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. It included St Paul's Cross and Paternoster Row. It became one of the principal marketplaces in London. St Paul's Cross was an open-air pulpit from whi ...

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

References

External links

*
Timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:026, London buses route Bus routes in London July 2005 London bombings Transport in the London Borough of Lambeth Transport in the City of Westminster Transport in the City of London Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Transport in the London Borough of Hackney