London Buses route 281

London Buses route 281 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. It runs between Hounslow and Tolworth and it is operated by London United using 25 buses.[1]

281
London United route 281 to Tolworth (cropped).jpg
Overview
OperatorLondon United
GarageFulwell
Peak vehicle requirement25
Began service9 May 1962
Night-time24-hour service
Route
StartHounslow
ViaWhitton
Twickenham
Teddington
Kingston
Surbiton
EndTolworth
Service
LevelDaily

History

 
London United Alexander RH bodied Volvo Olympian in Hounslow in September 1998
 
Transdev London TransBus ALX400 bodied TransBus Trident in Kingston in December 2008

Route 281 was introduced between Twickenham and Tolworth on 9 May 1962. It replaced trolleybus route 601 and operated from Fulwell garage.[2][3][4] On 15 August 1981 it was converted from AEC Routemaster to MCW Metrobus operation.

In 2000, the 281 was one of the most popular routes in London. Around 5.5 million passengers used the service that year.[5]

On 3 June 2006, route 281 became the 100th night bus service in London, when a 24-hour service introduced.[6] It replaced some of route N22, which was shortened to end at Fulwell.[7]

Since the privatisation of London bus services, route 281 has always been operated by London United out of Fulwell garage.[8][9][10]

Current route

Route 281 operates via these main locations:[11]

Incidents

In July 2005, soon after the 7 July 2005 London bombings, someone said they had planted a bomb on the 281 bus, but this was not true.[12]

London Buses Route 281 Media

References

  1. Tender News Bus Talk issue 26 February 2014
  2. Taylor, Hugh (1994). London TrolleybuBus Routes. Harrow Weald: Capital Transport Publishing. ISBN 9781854141552.
  3. Fulwell The London Bus volume 4 2017 pages 68/69
  4. Blake, Jim (2019-06-30). London Buses in the 1970s: 1975–1979: From Crisis to Recovery. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-8718-3.
  5. "Route 281 Bus Priority Measures" (PDF). 2003-02-13. p. 2.
  6. Mayor announces 100th night bus service in London. Transport for London. 30 May 2006. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/static/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/3616.html. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 
  7. "Direct night bus service: Central London to Teddington". Mayor's Question Time. 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  8. Contract Routes Retained London United
  9. TfL contract tender changes Coach & Bus Week issue 1115 27 November 2013 page 5
  10. Latest tendered service awards Buses issue 789 December 2020 page 21
  11. Route 281 Map Transport for London
  12. "Bomb hoaxer called police after 7/7 attacks". This is Local London. 23 July 2005. http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/616403.twickenham_hoaxer_told_police_he_had_planted_bomb_on_bus/. Retrieved 8 February 2011. 

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