London Buses route 27 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 Hammersmith Grove and

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 ...

, it is operated by

Abellio London Abellio London is a bus company operating services in Greater London. A subsidiary of Abellio, it operates services under contract to Transport for London (TfL). Until September 2018, services were operated in Surrey under the Abellio Sur ...

History

Bus in George Street, Richmond - geograph

Route 27 was introduced between

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

and

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Fi ...

via current route 281 and

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

and

Turnham Green Turnham Green is a public park on Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London, and the neighbourhood and conservation area around it; historically, it was one of the four medieval villages in the Chiswick area, the others being Old Chiswick, Little S ...

. At

, the route operated to Archway and Muswell Hill. The route was extended from Turnham Green to Hounslow in 1911. The route operated through

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when it was used by famous passengers including

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

to reach the

Q Theatre The Q Theatre was a British theatre located near Kew Bridge in Brentford, west London, which operated between 1924 and 1958. It was built on the site of the former Kew Bridge Studios. The theatre, seating 490 in 25 rows with a central aisle, w ...

near

Kew Bridge Kew Bridge is a wide-span bridge over the Tideway (upper estuary of the Thames) linking the London Boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Hounslow. The present bridge, which was opened in 1903 as King Edward VII Bridge by King Edward VII and Quee ...

. In the 1950s route 27 became the main route and route 27A was withdrawn from being the main route. In 1950, the route took part in trials to reassure the police that eight-foot buses presented no danger to other traffic. The route operated from Holloway garage at the time. Upon being re-tendered, the route was awarded to First CentreWest's Westbourne Park garage on 11 November 2000. When next re-tendered the route returned to London United's Stamford Brook garage from 12 November 2005. London United commenced a further contract on 10 November 2012 with the route extended from Turnham Green to

Chiswick Business Park Chiswick Business Park is a business park in Gunnersbury, West London, fronting on to Chiswick High Road. History Bus maintenance site The land on which the Chiswick Business Park was built had been owned by the Rothschild family and planted ...

. The extension is funded by the

London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in West London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils (forming part of the former Middlesex County Council area) amalgamated under ...

through developer contributions from Chiswick Business Park. New Alexander Dennis Enviro 400H Hybrids were introduced.

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 cascaded from route 10 were introduced on 24 November 2018. In March 2019 the section between Chiswick Business Park and Hammersmith Grove was withdrawn. The 24 hour service was also removed with route N27 being introduced to cover the night service.

was awarded the contract for route 27 when it was re-tendered effective 9 November 2019 from its Battersea garage. In 2021, the service frequency during peak times was reduced from 8 buses per hour to 6.

Current route

Route 27 operates via these primary locations: *

Hammersmith bus station Hammersmith bus station is located adjacent to the District & Piccadilly and Circle and Hammersmith & City lines London Underground stations in Hammersmith. It is owned and maintained by Transport for London. The bus station is divided into ...

Brook Green Brook Green is an affluent London neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is located approximately west of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Kensington, Holland Park, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith and Brackenbury Vi ...

Kensington Olympia station Kensington (Olympia) is a combined rail and tube station in Kensington, on the edge of Central London. Services are provided by London Overground, who manage the station, along with Southern (train operating company), Southern and London Underg ...

* High Street Kensington station *

Notting Hill Gate station Notting Hill Gate is a London Underground station near Notting Hill, London, located on the street called Notting Hill Gate. On the Central line, it is between Holland Park to the west and Queensway to the east. On the District line and Circl ...

Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...

* St Mary's Hospital *

Marylebone station Marylebone station ( ) is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern ter ...

* Baker Street station * Regent's Park station *

Great Portland Street Great Portland Street in the West End of London links Oxford Street with Albany Street and the A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. A commercial street including some embassies, it divides Fitzrovia, to the east, from Marylebone to the west. ...

* Warren Street 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 ...

* Camden Town station *''Hartland Road''

Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead R ...

Notable drivers

Singer

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...

was a driver on route 27 prior to beginning his musical career. In January 2011, bus driver Kenny MacKay published a book titled ''The Road Ahead: Observations of a London Bus Driver'' about his experiences as a driver on route 27.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:027, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Camden Transport in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Transport in the London Borough of Hounslow Transport in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Transport in the City of Westminster