London Buses route 149 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 Edmonton Green and

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It re ...

, 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

Route 149 was introduced in 1961 to replace trolleybus route 649 between

Waltham Cross Waltham Cross is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, located north of central London. In the south-eastern corner of Hertfordshire, it borders Cheshunt to the north, Waltham Abbey to the east, and Enfield to the sou ...

and

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 ...

. In 1968 it was extended on weekdays to

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 ...

with some peak hour journeys extended from Waltham Cross to Flamstead End via

Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, ...

. In 1970 the route was withdrawn north of

Ponders End Ponders End is the southeasternmost part of Enfield, north London, centred on the Hertford Road. Situated to the west of the River Lee Navigation, it became industrialised through the 19th century, similar to the Lea Valley in neighbouring E ...

and in 1971 back to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

, although a few peak hour journeys continued to serve Ponders End. Seven years later route 149 was re-extended to Ponders End at all times. In 1985, it was withdrawn between Waterloo and Victoria, and further cut back to Liverpool Street in 1991 apart from a few early weekday journeys to Mansion House station. In the same year it was extended back to Waterloo during weekday peak hours. In 1998 the route was extended south from Liverpool St station to

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 ...

. The service was converted to an

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 u ...

operation in 2004 with a fleet of Mercedes-Benz O530G and withdrawn north of Edmonton, with new route

349 __NOTOC__ Year 349 ( CCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Limenius and Catullinus (or, less frequently, year 1102 ...

taking over. In 2005, route 149 was subject to intensive

bus priority Bus priority or transit signal priority (TSP) is a name for various techniques to improve service and reduce delay for mass transit vehicles at intersections (or junctions) controlled by traffic signals. TSP techniques are most commonly associat ...

measures along the length of its route. A year later the route was used to test the iBus recorded announcements system to aid visually impaired passengers.

Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a low-floor double-decker bus body that was built by Wrightbus since 2001, based on the single-deck Wright Eclipse design. The second-generation Eclipse Gemini 2 was launched in 2009, followed by the third-generat ...

bodied

Volvo B9TL The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo from 2002 until 2018. It superseded the Volvo Super Olympian and the Volvo B7TL. The 2-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B5TL in 2014 and the 3-axle version has been su ...

double deck buses were introduced on 16 October 2010 as part of the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

's policy to withdraw articulated buses from London. The route was transferred to Tottenham garage and the peak vehicle requirement was increased to 36.

has successfully retained route 149 with new contracts starting on 16 October 2010 and 17 October 2015.

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 double-decker bus operated in London, England. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by W ...

s were introduced on 17 October 2015. The rear platform remains closed at all times except for when the bus is at bus stops. It is London's fourth busiest bus route as of 2015/16, having carried 14.1 million passengers. In 2019, peak service frequency was increased from every eight minutes to every six minutes.

Crime

Route 149 suffers from higher levels of crime than most routes in London. In the 2006-07 financial year the route had the sixth highest levels of reported incidents on the network. This was lower than in the previous year, when it was fifth. In 2007, the route was highlighted as having extremely high levels of pickpocketing by

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

member Jeanette Arnold.

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office ...

, then

, was called upon to increase policing on the route, but stated that pickpocket activity had in fact decreased between 2005 and 2007. A vehicle on the route was involved in an accident in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...

on 15 September 2009 when a double-decker bus on route 243 crashed into it. The driver and four passengers were injured in the accident, as was the driver of the 243, but there were no serious injuries. On 27 February 2010, a bus driver working on the route was assaulted by a passenger who had failed to alight at the correct stop. Two weeks earlier a driver on the route had been suspended for assaulting a pedestrian near Monument Station. On 15 October 2015, a man was jailed for throwing a man's walking frame off a bus on the route and shouting racist and Islamophobic abuse at him.

Current route

Edmonton Green Shopping Centre Edmonton Green shopping centre is a large shopping centre in Edmonton, north London, which also encompasses a market. It is located close to Edmonton Green railway station and a large bus station, on The Broadway.Edmonton Green station *

Upper Edmonton Upper Edmonton is the southern part of Edmonton, North London within the London Borough of Enfield. The main shopping area of Upper Edmonton on Fore Street is often referred to as "The Angel" by locals in reference to the former Angel public hou ...

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has play ...

* Bruce Grove station *

Tottenham Town Hall Tottenham Town Hall is a municipal building in Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History In the 19th century the local board of health met at Bruce Castle. After the area became an Urban district (Gre ...

''High Road'' *

Seven Sisters station Seven Sisters is a National Rail, London Overground and London Underground Victoria line station in the Seven Sisters area of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The station has two entrances/exits, one on Tottenham High Road and t ...

* South Tottenham station *

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the ...

* Stoke Newington station * Rio Cinema * Dalston Kingsland station * Dalston Junction station * Haggerston station *

St Leonard's Hospital St Leonard's Hospital may refer to: * St Leonard's Hospital, Ferndown, a community hospital in Dorset * St Leonard's Hospital, Hackney, a former hospital in London, built in 1913 * St Leonard's Hospital, Tickhill, a former monastic building in Sou ...

* Hoxton station /

Museum of the Home The Museum of the Home, formerly the Geffrye Museum, is a free museum in the 18th-century Grade I-listed former almshouses on Kingsland Road in Shoreditch, London. The museum explores home and home life from 1600 to the present day with gallerie ...

* Shoreditch High Street station *

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 ...

* Fenchurch Street * Monument station *

London Bridge bus station London Bridge bus station serves the London Bridge area of the city of London and is situated at the London Bridge tube and rail station. There are three stands at the station which are situated on the station forecourt. London Buses routes ...

for

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:149, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Enfield Transport in the London Borough of Hackney Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Transport in the City of London Transport in the London Borough of Southwark