London Buses route 507
| 507 | |
|---|---|
| 300px | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | London General |
| Garage | Waterloo (RA) Mandela Way (MW) |
| Vehicle | Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro 12.0m BYD electric bus 12.0m Irizar i2e electric bus 12.0m |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 15 |
| Night-time | No night service |
| Route | |
| Start | Waterloo station |
| Via | St Thomas' Hospital Lambeth Bridge Horseferry Road |
| End | Victoria bus station |
| Length | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
| Frequency | 3-4 minutes |
| Journey time | 12-20 minutes |
| Operates | 06:30 until 00:30 |
London Buses route 507 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Waterloo and Victoria stations, it is operated by London General.
Route 507, along with 521, doesn't operate on weekends.
History
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Red Arrow route 507 commenced operating on 7 September 1968 as part of the Red Arrow network of flat fare bus routes aimed at commuters in Central London linking some of the capital's main railway termini.[1][2]
On 2 June 2002, along with route 521, the route was the first bus route in London to be converted to articulated bus operation with a fleet of Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaros, replacing the ageing Leyland National Greenways. Being commuter routes, and so little used outside peak times, these routes were deemed suitable to test the articulated buses on, rather than a major trunk route.
During late 2003, early 2004, a series of onboard fires on Mercedes-Benz O530Gs led to withdrawal of the entire fleet, while Mercedes-Benz made some modifications. During this period limited services operated using a variety of different buses on route 507, including double-deckers.[3] An evening service was introduced in April 2007.
On 25 July 2009, as part of the move to replace London's articulated buses, the O530Gs were replaced by Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaros.[4] A new weekend service commenced at the same time.
The peak vehicle requirement increased from 9 to 15 to cope with the increased frequency, now at every 3-4 minutes. One criticism on articulated buses was high levels of fare evasion, yet the new Citaros retain open boarding, to help move commuters quickly from the busy rail termini. This has drawn further criticism, as the Red Arrow name was dropped on conversion, so there is nothing to distinguish the buses from normal services, with fears passengers may start boarding normal buses through the centre doors.
Another criticism of articulated buses was the low number of seats, with only 49 per vehicle. A standard rigid Citaro has 44 seats, however the new ones for route 507 have just 21, with room supposedly for up to 76 standees, leading to criticism the new buses were "cattle trucks" and even more crowded than the buses they replaced.[5] Despite the increase in frequency, the total number of seats has dropped.
In December 2013, two trial BYD electric buses were introduced.[6][7] From late-2015, the route will be operated entirely by Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 bodied BYD electric buses.[8][9]
Current route
Route 507 operates via these primary locations:[10]
- Waterloo station Cab Road
- County Hall
- St Thomas' Hospital
- Lambeth Palace
- Lambeth Bridge
- Millbank
- Westminster Cathedral
- Victoria bus station
for Victoria station
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Electric buses hit London roads The Guardian 19 December 2013
- ↑ London routes now served by BYD ebuses China Daily 23 December 2013
- ↑ More than 50 all electric buses to enter service in London Transport for London 15 July 2015
- ↑ BYD and ADL to build 51 electric buses for Go Ahead London Bus & Coach Professional 30 July 2015
- ↑ Route 507 Map Transport for London
External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
