London Buses route 108 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

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one ...

and

Stratford International station Stratford International is a National Rail station in Stratford and a separate Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station nearby, located in East Village in London. Despite its name, no international services stop at the station; plans for it t ...

, it is operated by

London Central London Central is a bus company operating in South London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. History London Central commenced operating on 1 April 1989 when London Bus ...

. An unusual feature of the route is its use of the

Blackwall Tunnel The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south ...

, a source of severe delays which leads to the route often being cited as amongst the least reliable in London.

History

Two batches of double deck buses were specifically built for use in the Blackwall and Rotherhithe Tunnels, with specially shaped roofs to improve clearance on the corners. On 14 April 1937, the last solid-tyred AEC NS-Type bus in London operated on route 108. In 1937, forty STL-type buses with convex-shaped roofs made with Blackwall Tunnel in mind were used on routes 108 and 82 and allocated to Athol Street (C) garage in Poplar.

Harris Bus Harris Bus was an English bus operator that operated services under contract to Transport for London. History Harris Bus was established in October 1986 as bus and coach operator in Grays. In 1997 it diversified, operating routes under contra ...

ran into financial difficulties in December 1999, and as a result operations of its contracted routes were taken over by a new subsidiary of

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

itself, trading as East Thames Buses. East Thames Buses initially ran its routes north of the Thames from the former London Forest garage in Ash Grove, along with the Harris base at Belvedere. On Friday, 6 Sept 1968, RTL 1561 was the last RTL southbound through the 1897 Blackwall Tunnel bore from Bromley By Bow to Lower Sydenham and back via the 1968 bore of Blackwall Tunnel. RTL1561 was also the last RTL on Route 108 before conversion to RT' from 7 Sept 1968. Route 108 became the first bus route to serve the

Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium. As of 2022, it is the ni ...

at the

Greenwich Peninsula The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the rest of Greenwich, to the s ...

during construction. The stop was initially inside the security area, and was used by staff only. On 3 October 2009, East Thames Buses was sold to

London General London General is a bus company operating in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal ...

, which included a five-year contract to operate route 108. Increased capacity will be introduced on route 108 in 2014. In February 2016, Transport for London released a consultation regarding various changes on local bus services in Poplar and the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...

. One of these changes saw route 108 swap routes between All Saints and Bow with route D8 and extended to terminate at

in lieu of

Stratford bus station Stratford bus station is a bus station and taxi rank in Stratford, London, Stratford in London, England. The station is owned and maintained by Transport for London. An entrance to Stratford station is located adjacent to the bus station, while ...

from 1 October 2016 with it no longer serving

Bromley-by-Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. The area is distinct from Bow, which l ...

and South Bromley.

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 and two electric

Irizar Irizar i4LE in Madrid Irizar Group is a Spanish-based manufacturer of luxury buses and coaches. Established in 1889, the company is located in Ormaiztegi in the Basque Country, Spain. With a commercial presence in over 90 countries, its ...

i2es cascaded from routes

507 __NOTOC__ Year 507 ( DVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Anastasius and Venantius (or, less frequently, year 1260 ...

and 521 were introduced at the same time.

Current route

Route 108 operates via these primary locations:Route 108 Map
Transport for London *

Lewisham station Lewisham is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway station in Lewisham, south-east London which first opened in 1849. On the National Rail network it is measured from and is operated by Southeastern.SoutheasternStation facilities: Lewish ...

Blackheath station Blackheath railway station is Grade II-listed and is in the south-centre of Blackheath, a village in southeast London. In traditional terms the area immediately south-west of the station around Lee Terrace and Lee Park is part of Lee; a st ...

* Blackheath ''Royal Standard'' * Westcombe Park station *

''Millennium Village/Oval Square'' * North Greenwich bus station for ''

North Greenwich station North Greenwich is a London Underground station served by the Jubilee line. Despite its name, it is not in the local area historically known as North Greenwich, on the Isle of Dogs, north of the River Thames; a completely different North Gree ...

'' * Poplar ''Bazely Street'' *

Langdon Park DLR station Langdon Park is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Poplar in Greater London, England. The station is between All Saints and Devons Road stations on the Stratford-Lewisham Line. Construction of the infill station began on 17 November 20 ...

* Bow Common ''Cranwell Close'' * Devons Road DLR station *

Bow Church DLR station Bow Church is a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Bow, London, England. It is between Devons Road and Pudding Mill Lane stations. It is interlinked by an out of station interchange (OSI) within walking distance via Bow Road with Bow ...

London Aquatics Centre The London Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility with two swimming pools and a diving pool in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London. The centre, designed by architect Zaha Hadid as one of the main venues of the 2012 Summer Olympic ...

* Stratford City bus station ''for

Stratford station Stratford is a major multi-level railway station which rates as the 5th busiest station in Britain, serving the district of Stratford and the mixed-use development known as Stratford City, in the London Borough of Newham, east London. It is ...

'' *

References

External links

Timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:108, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Newham Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Transport in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Transport in the London Borough of Lewisham