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London Buses route 149

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149
Arriva London New Routemaster on London Bridge in September 2017
Overview
OperatorArriva London
GarageTottenham
VehicleNew Routemaster
Peak vehicle requirementDay: 29
Night: 9
Night-time24-hour service
Route
StartEdmonton Green bus station
ViaTottenham
Stamford Hill
Stoke Newington
Dalston
Shoreditch
EndLondon Bridge bus station
Length9 miles (14 km)
Service
Level24-hour service
FrequencyAbout every 8 minutes
Journey time40-78 minutes
Operates24-hour service

London Buses route 149 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Edmonton Green bus station and London Bridge bus station, it is operated by Arriva London.

History

Arriva London Mercedes-Benz O530G on Bishopsgate in 2009
Arriva London Wright Gemini 2 bodied VDL DB300 in Shoreditch in 2010

Route 149 was introduced in 1961 to replace trolleybus route 649[1] between Waltham Cross and Liverpool Street station. In 1968 it was extended on weekdays to Victoria with some peak hour journeys extended from Waltham Cross to Flamstead End via Cheshunt. In 1970 the route was withdrawn north of Ponders End and in 1971 back to Edmonton, although a few peak hour journeys continued to serve Ponders End.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.[2]

In 1985, it was withdrawn between Waterloo and Victoria, and further cut back to Liverpool Street in 1991 apart from a few early weekday journeys to Mansion House station.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. The service was converted to an articulated bus operation in 2004 with a fleet of Mercedes-Benz O530G and withdrawn north of Edmonton, with new route 349 taking over.[2]

In 2005, route 149 was subject to intensive bus priority measures along the length of its route.[3] A year later the route was used to test the iBus recorded announcements system to aid visually impaired passengers.[4]

Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TL double deck buses were introduced on 16 October 2010 as part of the Mayor of London's policy to withdraw articulated buses from London. The route was transferred to Tottenham garage and the peak vehicle requirement was increased to 36.[5]

Arriva London has successfully retained route 149 with new contracts starting on 16 October 2010 and 17 October 2015.[6][7]

New Routemasters were introduced on 17 October 2015. The rear platform remains closed at all times except for when the bus is at bus stops.[8]

It is London's fourth busiest bus route as of 2015/16, having carried 14.1 million passengers.[9]

In 2019, peak service frequency was increased from every eight minutes to every six minutes.[10]

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.[11]

In 2007, the route was highlighted as having extremely high levels of pickpocketing by London Assembly member Jeanette Arnold. Ken Livingstone, then Mayor of London, was called upon to increase policing on the route, but stated that pickpocket activity had in fact decreased between 2005 and 2007.[12]

A vehicle on the route was involved in an accident in Tottenham 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.[13][14]

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.[15] Two weeks earlier a driver on the route had been suspended for assaulting a pedestrian near Monument station.[16]

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.[17]

Current route

References

  1. ^ Routemaster Association Archived 9 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine routemaster.org.uk
  2. ^ a b Alan Gryfe (20 July 2010). "London Transport Central Area Routes 146-149". Eplates.info. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  3. ^ "European Transport Conference: Route 149 - Intensive bus priority measures". Etcproceedings.org. 1 August 2005. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. ^ "England | London | 'Voice of London' buses announced". BBC News. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  5. ^ Press Release Transport for London
  6. ^ 2009 Bus Tender Result Transport For London Bus Tender Result 2009
  7. ^ 2015 Bus Tender Result Transport For London Bus Tender Result 2014
  8. ^ Press Release Transport For London
  9. ^ https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/bus-service-usage.xlsx [dead link]
  10. ^ Munro, Vicky (16 April 2019). "The London bus routes TfL has decided to scrap". MyLondon. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  11. ^ Crerar, Pippa (12 April 2012). "CCTV, more police but crime on the buses gets worse". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  12. ^ "The London Assembly: Mayor answers to London - 149 bus route". Legacy.london.gov.uk. 23 May 2007. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  13. ^ Tottenham, Wood Green and Edmonton Journal | Counting cost of Tottenham High Road bus crash
  14. ^ Ben Smith and Ashling O’Connor 15 October 2010 8:32AM (1 July 1967). "Commuters injured after buses collid". thelondonpaper.com. Retrieved 15 October 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "City of London Police - Police appeal after attack on 149 bus driver". Cityoflondon.police.uk. 19 April 2010. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  16. ^ Bryant, Miranda (13 April 2012). "Driver suspended after 'stopping bus and beating up pedestrian'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  17. ^ "Man jailed for throwing walking frame off London bus". BBC News. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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