London Buses route 343
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343
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| Overview | |
| Operator | Abellio London |
| Garage | Walworth Road |
| Vehicle | Volvo B7TL / Wright Eclipse Gemini |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 19 |
| Nighttime | Night bus N343 |
| Route | |
| Start | City Hall |
| Via | London Bridge Elephant & Castle Peckham Brockley |
| End | New Cross Gate |
| Length | 7 miles (11 km) |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
| Frequency | About every 6-12 minutes |
| Journey time | 37-53 minutes |
| Operates | 5:10am until 0:33am |
| Transport for London • Performance |
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London Buses route 343 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Abellio London.
Contents |
[edit] History
Route 343 was introduced on 3 February 2001 to replace the withdrawn route P3, running from London Bridge Station to New Cross Gate, operated by London Central at their New Cross Garage using Volvo B7TL 10m / Plaxton Presidents (PVLs) on the existing contract for the withdrawn route P3. The initial route P3 began on 24 January 1970 using Leyland Atlanteans as a circular route from Peckham Garage via Peckham Rye and Nunhead, replacing part of route 173. It was later extended to London Bridge before becoming route 343.[citation needed]
The route was withdrawn from London Bridge Station during September 2002, and rerouted from Borough High Street via Tooley Street, Druid Street, Crucifix Lane and to stand at St Thomas Street for Guy's Hospital in 2002.[citation needed]
Travel London gained the contract to operate the route from 21 September 2005 from their Walworth Road bus garage, using new Volvo B7TLs with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork.[1]
The 343 also has a night service in the form of route N343, which runs parallel to the day route and then continues to Trafalgar Square via route N381, Waterloo and Aldwych.[2]
A consultation on improving bus provision over the section of the route between Elephant & Castle and Peckham, in which the 343 is the only option of public transport available, was carried out by London Assembly member Valerie Shawcross (Labour) in late 2007. Following complaints from residents, Shawcross monitored the service at the Southampton Way stop, finding that the service suffered from long gaps in service and overcrowding at peak times.[3]
In 2008 Southwark Council attempted to increase usage on the 343 by promoting it with a two-page spread in the publication Southwark Life.[4]
The contract to operate the route was retained by Travel London's successor Abellio London in early June 2010.[5] In the same month, the route was revealed to be amongst the ten worst performing in London.[6] Two additional morning peak journeys were introduced on 12 June with the intention of solving the problems; performance improved as a result, although the route continued to receive complaints.[7]
A proposal to increase the frequency of the route was announced by Transport for London in November 2010.[8]
[edit] Current route
- City Hall Queen Elizabeth Street
- Tower Bridge Road
- Druid Street
- Crucifix Lane
- St Thomas Street for Guy's Hospital
- Stainer Street
- Tooley Street
- Duke Street Hill
- London Bridge Station
- Borough High Street
- Borough Station
- Newington Causeway
- Elephant & Castle
- Walworth Road
- Heygate Street
- Rodney Road
- Flint Street
- Thurlow Street
- Albany Road
- Wells Way
- Southampton Way Estate
- Peckham Road
- Peckham High Street
- Clayton Road
- Hanover Park
- Rye Lane
- Peckham Rye Station
- Peckham Rye
- Cheltenham Road
- Ivydale Road
- Merttins Road
- St Norbert Road
- Frendsbury Road
- Brockley
- Avignon Road
- Pepys Road
- Jerningham Road
- New Cross Gate Jerningham Road for New Cross Gate Station
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Aldridge, John (May 2005). "Another change as NatEx gains the 188". Buses (Ian Allan Publishing) (602): 20.
- ^ London Bus Routes - 343/N343 timetable
- ^ London Assembly Labour: Bus bosses to tackle 343 problems
- ^ Condron, Stephanie (26 August 2008). "Council staff too scared to walk streets get free bus rides home". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1048635/Council-staff-scared-walk-streets-free-bus-rides-home.html.
- ^ Bus tender results - route 343 Transport for London, 2 June 2010
- ^ 262 London's worst performing bus route - top 10 revealed London Daily News, 11 June 2010
- ^ Val Shawcross: TfL insist 343 improving as passengers still left waiting
- ^ C10 retains its place in league table of most complained about bus routes in London London-se1, 26 November 2010
