London Buses route 15 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 Blackwall station and

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

, it is operated by Docklands Buses. Short workings of route 15 were provided by heritage route 15 with traditional

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 ...

buses between 2005 and 2019.

History

Route 15 was introduced in November 1908 between

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

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the hundred o ...

. On 16 December 1909, LGOC X-type buses were introduced to the route, running between

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

and Plaistow. In 1914 it was extended to

Putney Common Putney Lower Common is an open parkland space in the London Borough of Wandsworth between the town centres of Putney and Barnes. It is part of Wimbledon and Putney Commons, lying 1.5 miles from the rest of the common area. Geography The commo ...

, with a Sunday extension eastwards to Plaistow. By 1921 route 15 had been cut back to

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

, extending in the east to Barking and

North Woolwich North Woolwich is an area in the London Borough of Newham in East London. It is located on the northern bank of the River Thames, across the river from Woolwich. It is connected to Woolwich by the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel. De ...

on weekdays. A Sunday extension from Ladbroke Grove to Acton Vale was launched, and the North Woolwich journeys were diverted to

Becontree Heath Becontree Heath (also spelt Beacontree Heath) is an open space in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The name has also been applied to the local area, in particular to the RM8 postal district. History Becontree Heath functioned as the ...

. In May 1949, Leyland Titan RTWs were introduced on route 15. By November 1949, the route ran on from Ladbroke Grove to Poplar (

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 ...

), extending to East Ham during Monday to Friday peak hours and evenings, and all day on Saturdays and Sundays, with a further Sunday extension to Kew. From January 1967 journeys to

Kensal Rise Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, a ...

were introduced, and in October 1969 the route was suspended between Acton and Kew, being reinstated in 1970. In May 1975 the Sunday service was rerouted to

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, Californi ...

bus station. In May 1985, the route was diverted between to serve

Cannon Street Cannon Street is a road in the City of London, the historic nucleus of London and its modern financial centre. It runs roughly parallel with the River Thames, about north of it, in the south of the City. It is the site of the ancient London ...

and the

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 sep ...

. In June 1987 the Sunday service was converted to one-man operation. On 15 March 1989 an express commuter service named ''The Beckton Express'' and numbered X15 began operating between

Beckton Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Barki ...

and

Aldwych Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the area immediately surrounding it in central London, England, within the City of Westminster. The street starts east-northeast of Charing Cross, the conventional map centre-point of the city ...

using former

London Country London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1970 until 1986, when it was split up and later sold as part of the bus deregulation programme. History Formation London Country Bus Services Ltd was ...

s. This ceased on 22 November 1991. On 18 July 1992, the Monday to Saturday service was withdrawn between Ladbroke Grove and

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

, being replaced by new route 23. In May 1993 this section was withdrawn on Sundays, and in September 1999 route 15 was withdrawn between Poplar and

Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...

, with buses diverted to serve Blackwall station. In August 2003 the route was withdrawn between Blackwall and East Ham. Alexander ALX400 bodied

Dennis Trident 2 The Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally manufactured by Dennis, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow. It was built by TransBus after Dennis was incorporated into the group in 2001, t ...

double deckers were introduced on 30 August 2003 to replace the AEC Routemasters when the route was converted to one person operation. On 26 February 2006, it was announced that route 15 would be extended from

to Paddington Basin over the reconstructed Bishop's Bridge; the previous bridge was not considered strong enough to take buses. Although the reconstructed bridge opened in June 2006, this extension was continuously deferred, with the extension eventually taking place on 13 October 2007, in order to free up stand space at Paddington for the newly introduced route 332. Route 15 was transferred to West Ham garage on 27 June 2009. The route was withdrawn between Paddington Basin and

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Plac ...

on 28 August 2010 as part of Transport for London's policy of reducing the number of buses using

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

in order to ease congestion and pollution. Route 159 was extended along the withdrawn section of the route between Marble Arch and Paddington Basin. It was also further shortened to Trafalgar Square in May 2013. Alexander Dennis Enviro400H double deckers were introduced in January 2012.

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 28 February 2015. When next tendered, the route was awarded to

Blue Triangle Blue Triangle is a bus company operating services in East London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates most services under contract to Transport for London. It is the operator of the East London Transit service. History ...

who commenced operations on 26 August 2017.

Heritage route

In November 2005, route 15 was selected as one of two routes to operate short workings of their normal route using AEC Routemasters with heritage route 15 initially operating daily between

and

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

before being scaled back in March 2019 to run on Summer weekends and public holidays only. The service operated between November 2005 and September 2019. It did not run in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and was permanently withdrawn at the end of its contract in November of that year.

Current route

Route 15 operates via these primary locations:Route Map
Transport for London * Blackwall station * Poplar ''Chrisp Street Market'' *

Limehouse station Limehouse is a National Rail and connected Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in Limehouse, London, England. It is served by regional services operated by c2c to and from Fenchurch Street, and by light metro services provided by the DLR t ...

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

''Arbour Square'' *

Shadwell Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has mea ...

''Watney Market'' * Aldgate East station * Aldgate station * Tower Gateway station *

* Monument station *

Cannon Street station Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is ...

* Mansion House station *

St Paul's Churchyard St Paul's Churchyard is an area immediately around St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. It included St Paul's Cross and Paternoster Row. It became one of the principal marketplaces in London. St Paul's Cross was an open-air pulpit from whi ...

* City Thameslink station * Ludgate Circus *

* Charing Cross Station *

References

External links

*
Timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:015, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the City of London Transport in the City of Westminster Transport in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets