London Buses route 8 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, England. Running between

Bow Church Bow Church is the parish church of St Mary and Holy Trinity, Stratford, Bow. It is located on a central reservation site in Bow Road (part of the A11), in Bow, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. There has been a church on the same site f ...

and Tottenham Court Road station, it is operated by Stagecoach London.

History

Routemaster_RML2738_(SMK_738F),_6_March_2004

On 2 November 1908, the bus route number 8 was allocated to a previously un-numbered route operating between the Bush Hotel in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character ...

and Seven Kings High Road in Ilford. On 20 June 1912, routes 8 and 25 exchanged eastern ends at Bank, so that from then on route 8 operated between Willesden and

Old Ford Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea. History Administration and boundaries Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, aroun ...

. This situation continued, apart from various westward extensions of the route to

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

and Alperton, until 18 July 1992. At that time route 8 again was re-routed over route 25, and now operated from Victoria bus station to

via Old Ford, the same routing as the 1912 version of route 25. The western end of the route beyond

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the ...

became 98. On 3 January 1933, AEC Regent STL buses were used from Clay Hall garage. In May 1949, Leyland Titan RTWs were introduced on route 8. In January 1958, the third prototype

AEC Routemaster The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The first prototype was completed in September 1954 and the last on ...

began operation on route 8 between Willesdan and Old Ford. On 6 June 1959, the first three production Routemasters to enter service in London (RM5, RM7 and RM24) debuted on route 8 from Willesden garage. On 27 June 2009, route 8 was curtailed west of

Oxford Circus Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station. The junction opened in 1819 as part of the Regent Street development under John ...

. Route C2 was extended to Victoria station as a replacement. The changes were part of Transport for London's commitment to the Mayor of London to reduce the bus flow in Oxford Street by 10% in each of 2009 and 2010. Stagecoach London has successfully retained route 8 with new contracts starting on 26 June 2004, 27 June 2009 and 28 June 2014. New Routemasters were introduced on 28 June 2014. The rear platform remains closed at all times except for when the bus is at bus stops. In August 2019, the middle and rear doors on New Routemasters on route 8 became exit only with passengers only able to board through the front door.

Current route

Route 8 operates via these primary locations:Route Map
Transport for London *

''Parnell Road'' * Bethnal Green station *

Brick Lane Brick Lane ( Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest ...

* Shoreditch High Street station *

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 ...

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 Bar ...

* Bank station * St Paul's station * City Thameslink station * Holborn Circus * Chancery Lane station * Holborn station *

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 t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:008, London Buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Camden Transport in the City of London Transport in the London Borough of Hackney Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets