London Buses route 189 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 Brent Cross and Marble Arch, it is operated by

Metroline Metroline is a bus company operating services in Greater London and south Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Corporation and operates services under contract to Transport for London. As at March 2021, the fleet consisted of 1,5 ...

. The route currently runs as a 24-hour service.

History

Route 189 commenced operation on 11 October 1997 running between Kilburn Park Station and Brent Cross Shopping Centre. The route was introduced to partially replace the withdrawn route 16A (which ran from Brent Cross to

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 ...

). On 28 March 1998, the route was extended to Oxford Circus, still starting at Brent Cross. The route was converted from the original Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s to the

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 ...

, the route was one of the last to make the switch. On 1 April 2017, the route was withdrawn between Orchard Street/Portman Street and Oxford Circus, and diverted to Marble Arch. The route was proposed to be withdrawn between Marble Arch and Belsize Road, furthermore, the route would have been extended to

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 ...

replacing route 31. The night service would have been renumbered to N189 and would continue to run to Marble Arch. The suggested change was subject to lots of controversy as it would have deprived certain areas of direct bus access to Central London. On 23 November TFL decided to suspend the plans until further notice, keeping the initial Brent Cross - Marble Arch service.

Current route

Route 189 operates via these primary locations: *

Brent Cross Shopping Centre Brent Cross Shopping Centre is a large shopping centre in Hendon, north London, owned by Hammerson and Abrdn. Located by the Brent Cross interchange, it opened in 1976 as the UK's first out-of-town shopping centre. Brent Cross attracted 15–1 ...

* Cricklewood Broadway ''(for Cricklewood Station )'' * Kilburn Station * Brondesbury Station *

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although '' Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly ...

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

Baker Street Station Baker Street is a London Underground station at the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road in the City of Westminster. It is one of the original stations of the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the world's first underground railway, opened ...

* Marble Arch ''(for'' ''

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 ...

and Marble Arch Station )''

References

{{London bus routes Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Barnet Transport in the City of Westminster Transport for London