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London Buses route 65

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65
London United Wright Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LH at South Ealing tube station in July 2016
Overview
OperatorLondon United[1]
GarageFulwell[1]
Night-timeNight Bus N65
Route
StartEaling Broadway station
ViaSouth Ealing
Brentford
Kew
Richmond
Petersham
Ham
EndKingston upon Thames

London Buses route 65 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Ealing Broadway station and Kingston upon Thames, it is operated by London United.

History

Transdev London Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Trident 2 in Kew in May 2010

Route 65 originally ran from Ealing Argyle Road (now Scotch Common) to Leatherhead via Ealing Broadway, South Ealing, Brentford, Richmond, Petersham, Ham, Kingston, Tolworth, Hook and Chessington. In the summer months, the route was extended from Kingston to Chessington Zoo. It was initially operated from Kingston (K) and Turnham Green (V) garages, using STL-class AEC Regents and, after World War II, AEC Regent III RTs, Leyland Titans, and Routemasters. In 1946, "pay-as-you-enter" experiments were carried out on route 65, running between Ealing Broadway and Leatherhead.[2][3]

In the 1960s, the southernmost section between Chessington Zoo and Leatherhead was withdrawn and replaced by route 71. In 1975, the elderly AEC Regent III RT were replaced by AEC Routemasters, and the route extended from Chessington Zoo to Chessington Fox & Hounds during Monday to Friday peak hours.[4]

In February 1979, the route was temporarily split in two in Petersham, due to a large sinkhole nicknamed the 'Petersham Hole'. Regular through service did not resume until September 1980.[5]

In 1984, the northern section to Argyle Road was cut back to Ealing Broadway. In 1985, the 65 was converted to one-person operation using MCW Metrobuses, all based at Norbiton.[4] In 1987, the route was reduced further, with the southern portion of the route to Chessington cut back to Kingston. By this time, route tendering had been established in London, and 65 passed to Kingston Bus, a low-cost unit established by London Buses.[4]

Upon being re-tendered, the route was awarded to Armchair Passenger Transport. However a delay in the delivery of new buses resulted in London & Country operating it for a few months from 29 September 1990, mainly using Leyland Atlanteans from distant Croydon and Leatherhead garages.[4]

Armchair finally took over in January 1991, using a batch of seventeen Leyland Olympians plus three second-hand Atlanteans.[6] It retained the route upon it being re-tendered in 1996, and subsequently replaced the ageing Atlanteans with new Northern Counties Palatine II bodied Volvo Olympians. A variety of other buses worked the route during Armchair's tenure, including Alexander bodied Leyland Olympians after Armchair lost route 260, two MCW Metrobuses new to East Kent Road Car Company.[7]

Upon being re-tendered, the route passed to London United on 29 June 2002 with new Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Trident 2s from Fulwell garage.[8]

Upon being re-tendered, it was retained by London United with a new contract commencing on 4 July 2009, that saw the section between Kingston and Chessington reinstated for night-time services only.[9] London United retained the route when next tendered with the new contract to commence on 2 July 2016.[10]

In 2022, the bus fleet was electrified, with the introduction of Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV battery electric buses.[11]

Current route

Route 65 operates via these primary locations:[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Our services". RATP Dev Transit London. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  2. ^ Graeme Bruce, J; Curtis, Colin (1977). The London Motor Bus: Its Origins and Development. London Transport. p. 74. ISBN 0853290830.
  3. ^ Day, John (1973). The Story of the London Bus: London and its buses from the horse bus to the present day. London Transport. pp. 96. ISBN 9780853290377.
  4. ^ a b c d "Route 65 ~ a brief History - London Bus Museum". London Bus Museum. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Petersham Hole (1980), Richmond Transport (1992)". London's Screen Archives. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  6. ^ McLachlan, Tom (1995). London Buses 1985-1995: Managing The Change. Venture Publications. pp. 98–99. ISBN 1-898432-74-0.
  7. ^ Wharmby, Matthew, The London Metrobus (Ian Allan Publishing, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7110-3377-1
  8. ^ Aldridge, John (January 2002). "It's the end for Armchair on the 65". Buses (562). Ian Allan Publishing: 12.
  9. ^ Change to night bus services for south west London Transport for London
  10. ^ Tender News Bus Talk (Go-Ahead London) issue 37 December 2015 page 11
  11. ^ "Transport for London plan for new electric buses in South West London". South West Londoner. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  12. ^ Route 65 Map Transport for London
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