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London Buses route 108

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108
London Central MCV Evolution bodied Dennis Dart SLF at North Greenwich bus station in May 2014
Overview
OperatorLondon Central
Route
StartLewisham
ViaBlackheath
North Greenwich
Bow
EndStratford bus station

London Buses route 108 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Lewisham and Stratford bus station, it is operated by London Central.

The unusual feature of the route is its use of the Blackwall Tunnel, a source of severe delays which makes the route the least reliable in London.[1]

History

Two batches of double deck buses were specifically built for use in the Blackwall and Rotherhithe Tunnels, with specially shaped roofs to improve clearance on the corners. On 14 April 1937, the last solid-tyred AEC NS-Type bus in London operated on route 108.[2] In 1937, forty STL-type buses with convex-shaped roofs made with Blackwall Tunnel in mind were used on routes 108 and 82 and allocated to Athol Street (C) garage in Poplar.[3]

Harris Bus ran into financial difficulties in December 1999, and as a result operations of its contracted routes were taken over by a new subsidiary of London Buses itself, trading as East Thames Buses. East Thames Buses initially ran its routes north of the Thames from the former London Forest garage in Ash Grove, along with the Harris base at Belvedere.[4]

The 108 became the first bus route to serve the Millennium Dome at the Greenwich Peninsula during construction. The stop was initially inside the security area, and was used by staff only.[5]

On 3 October 2009, East Thames Buses was sold to London General, which included a five-year contract to operate route 108.[6][7][8][9] Increased capacity will be introduced on route 108 in 2014.[10]

On the 8 February 2016, TFL released a consultation on various changes on local bus services in Poplar and the Isle of Dogs. One of these changes would see the 108 and D8 swap routes between Bromley by Bow and Poplar with it no longer serving that section but instead running via Langdon Park and Bow Church.[11]

Current route

Route 108 operates via these primary locations:[12]

References

  1. ^ Aldridge, John (July 2007). "Tunnel troubles provoke interesting reaction". Buses (628). Ian Allan Publishing: 21.
  2. ^ Graeme Bruce, J; Curtis, Colin (1977). The London Motor Bus: Its Origins and Development. London Transport. p. 44. ISBN 0853290830.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Graeme Bruce, J; Curtis, Colin (1977). The London Motor Bus: Its Origins and Development. London Transport. p. 73. ISBN 0853290830.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Aldridge, John (May 2000). "Harris Bus: Why LT took over". Buses (542). Ian Allan Publishing: 14.
  5. ^ It's not all Dome and gloom Glasgow Herald, 3 October 1999
  6. ^ Go-Ahead Acquires East Thames Buses Go-Ahead Group 30 July 2009
  7. ^ Go-Ahead buys East Thames Buses Bus & Coach Professional 3 August 2009
  8. ^ East Thames Buses Go-Ahead London
  9. ^ Bus tender results Route 108/N108 Transport for London 1 July 2009
  10. ^ Read, Carly (24 July 2014). "Chaos on 108 bus to Greenwich forces TfL to add additional service this autumn". This is Local London. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ Route 108 Map Transport for London
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