London Buses route RV1 was 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

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

and

Tower Gateway station Tower Gateway is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in the City of London and is located near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It adjoins the tracks to Fenchurch Street station and is located on the site of a former station called Min ...

, it was operated by

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 ...

until 14 June 2019, when it was permanently withdrawn.

History

Route RV1 commenced operating on 27 April 2002 between

and

. The service carried ''Riverside'' branding and was intended to open up 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 ...

, connecting visitor attractions including the National Theatre,

London Eye The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United ...

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

and

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

. It serves many streets that had not been served by buses. The service was jointly promoted by Transport for London and the South Bank Employers' Group. ''

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". It was one of the first routes in London to use off-bus ticketing only, leading to quicker boarding and journey times, and unusually operated at the same frequency on Sundays as on other days of the week. The route used to be operated by diesel fuelled

Mercedes-Benz Citaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia ...

s. Between September 2004 and January 2007, three trial

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...

powered Mercedes-Benz Citaros were used on this route to compare their efficiency with their diesel equivalents. The fuel cell buses only operated in the mornings and early afternoon due to a lack of fuel capacity. In November 2010, it was announced that the route would again be operated with hydrogen-powered vehicles. One new bus came into service in December 2010, and seven more were in service by the end of 2011. On 22 June 2013, route RV1 was included in the sale of First London's Lea Interchange garage to

. In August 2014, WiFi technology was introduced on one bus on route RV1. New passenger information screens were also introduced on one bus on the route. In 2018 two

Van Hool Van Hool NV () is a Belgian family-owned coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers. Most of the buses and coaches are built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from Caterpillar, Cummins, ...

A330 hydrogen buses would entered service on the route. Following declining usage and a frequency cut in February 2018, it was proposed by Transport for London that the route be withdrawn. Although

Southwark Council Southwark London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number ...

and local residents protested against the withdrawal of the route the route was withdrawn at the close of service on 14 June 2019.

Route

Route RV1 operated via these primary locations:Route RV1 Map
Transport for London *

''Catherine Street'' *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Oxo Tower The Oxo Tower is a building with a prominent tower on the south bank of the River Thames in London. The building has mixed use as Oxo Tower Wharf containing a set of design, arts and crafts shops on the ground and first floors with two galler ...

Southwark Street Southwark Street is a major street in Bankside in the London Borough of Southwark, in London England, just south of the River Thames. It runs between Blackfriars Road to the west and Borough High Street to the east. It also connects the access ...

London Bridge station London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The m ...

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:RV1, London Buses Route Bus routes in London Transport in the City of Westminster Transport in the London Borough of Lambeth Transport in the London Borough of Southwark Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Transport in the City of London