London Buses route 29 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

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...

and

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

, 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

Today's route 29 traces its history back to a daily route between

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 ...

and

via

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction of ...

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

Seven Sisters Road Seven Sisters Road is a road in north London, England which runs within the boroughs of Islington, Hackney and Haringey. It is an extension of Camden Road, running from Holloway Road (the A1 road) at the Nags Head crossroads then on to another ...

and

Green Lanes Green Lanes may refer to: *A green lane (road), a type of road, usually an unpaved rural route. *Green Lanes (London), a major road running through north London * Harringay, a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Haringey The London Borough o ...

Harringay Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett's ...

, which began operation on 20 November 1911. By 1949, the route had been extended northwards to serve

South Mimms South Mimms is a village and civil parish in the Hertsmere district of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It is a small settlement located near to the junction of the M25 motorway with the A1(M) motorway and is perhaps more widely known because ...

, travelling on from Wood Green via

Palmers Green Palmers Green is a suburban area and electoral ward in North London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is located within the N13 postcode district, around north of Charing Cross. It is home to the largest population of Greek Cy ...

Southgate Southgate or South Gate may refer to: Places Australia *Southgate, Sylvania *Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, an area within Southbank, Victoria Canada *Southgate, Ontario, a township in Grey County * Southgate, Middlesex County, Ontario Ed ...

Cockfosters Cockfosters is a suburb of north London to the east of Chipping Barnet, lying partly in the London Borough of Enfield and partly in the London Borough of Barnet. Before 1965, it was in the counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. Origins and ...

Hadley Wood Hadley Wood is an affluent suburb in the north of Greater London, close to the border with Hertfordshire. It appears to be a stand-alone village surrounded by Green Belt land, however, under the Local Government Act 1972 it is part of the ...

and

Potters Bar Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. In 2022 the population was ...

.The Motorbus in Central London (Ian Allan, 1986; ) At peak hours on weekdays the route extended further to

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

. This was changed in 1951 so the route terminated at the Elstree Way Hotel instead of Borehamwood. Additional journeys on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends were introduced in 1953, serving Clare Hall Hospital. Three years later, the service was withdrawn from Potters Bar and South Mimms, only to be reinstated after just three months. Arriva_bus_MA95_(BX55_FUP),_24_September_2011

Arriva_bus_MA95_(BX55_FUP),_24_September_2011

Route 29A terminated at Oakwood station. The route was changed again in 1968, with the Monday to Saturday service from Southgate northwards being replaced by new route 298, and route 298A to Oakwood (except on Saturdays, when new route 125A provided service). Route 29 did, however, continue north from Southgate to Cockfosters station at peak hours on weekdays. The Sunday service between Southgate and South Mimms was replaced two years later by new route 299. Late journeys on Monday to Saturday were also changed to terminate at The Triangle in Palmers Green at this time. In 1977, the Southgate portion of the route was withdrawn completely, with the route instead continuing northwards from Palmers Green through Winchmore Hill to Enfield Town. London_bus_route_29

The route continued to operate between Victoria and Enfield Town for the next 14 years, being served by a fleet of

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 operating out of Palmers Green garage. In 1988, the route was converted to single person double deck operation. A proposal by

Capital Citybus Capital Citybus was a bus operator in London operating services under contract to London Regional Transport. History Capital Citybus was established on 29 December 1990, with the purchase of the London tendered bus services of Ensignbus by the ...

to operate the route with tri-axle double deck buses in 1991 was rejected by

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...

, then in charge of tendering the route, and it was retained by incumbent operator Leaside Buses. On 14 January 2006, Mercedes-Benz O530G

articulated bus 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 ...

es were introduced. It was reported that operation of the route by articulated vehicles cost around £1.6 million more per year than double-deck operation. In April 2006, the route's stop in

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 ...

was relocated and a bus lane extended to provide more space for passengers and vehicles. In November 2011, operation of the route was switched from bendy buses to double-decker buses. On 5 and 6 February 2014, nine AEC Routemasters were used on the route during a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

strike.

Route

Night bus route N29 follows the same route as the 29, but is extended to and from

and

Enfield Town Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Highway ...

.Police to on Crime on Route 29/N29 , RMT London Calling
/ref>

Today

The route is noted for its high crime rate, and in January 2008 was London's third most dangerous bus route, according to figures released by Transport for London. In February 2010 police presence on the route was increased. This followed a similar increase in early 2005 which had focussed on antisocial behaviour and illegal parking along the route. In 2015/16 it was the third busiest route in London with 15.5 million passengers. In 2021, the service frequency during peak times Monday to Friday was reduced from 12 buses per hour to 10.

Current route

* Wood Green station *

Turnpike Lane station Turnpike Lane is a London Underground station at Turnpike Lane, Haringey, Turnpike Lane in the London Borough of Haringey in north London, England. The station is on the northeastern part of Piccadilly line between Manor House tube station, Ma ...

Harringay Green Lanes station Harringay Green Lanes railway station is on the Gospel Oak to Barking line in Harringay, north London. It is from (measured via Kentish Town and Mortimer Street Junction) and is situated between and . Services Trains run every 15 minut ...

Manor House station Manor House is a station on the Piccadilly line of the London Underground, on the boundary between Travelcard Zone 2 and Zone 3. It straddles the border between the London Boroughs of Hackney and Haringey, the postal address and three of th ...

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

Blackstock Road Blackstock Road is a major road in North London, England, running from Seven Sisters Road south westerly to Highbury. Facilities Blackstock Road hosts a diverse array of independent shops, cafes and restaurants. At its south end there are a n ...

Finsbury Park station Finsbury Park is an intermodal interchange station in north London. It serves a number of National Rail, London Underground and bus services. The station is the third busiest Underground station outside Zone 1, with over 33 million passengers u ...

* Holloway Road, Nag's Head *

Camden Road station Camden Road railway station in the London Borough of Camden, north London, is operated by London Overground. It is on the North London line and in Travelcard Zone 2. The first Camden Road station was opened by the North London Railway in 1850 ...

* Camden Town station *

Mornington Crescent station Mornington Crescent is a London Underground station in Somers Town in north west London, named after the nearby street. The station is on the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line, between and stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 2. The s ...

* Warren Street station * Goodge Street station *St Giles High Street ''for

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 ...

'' * Cambridge Circus * Leicester Square station *

''for

Charing Cross station Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashfo ...

References

External links

*
Timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:029, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Camden Transport in the London Borough of Haringey Transport in the London Borough of Islington Transport in the City of Westminster