This time, I take a bus trip from South London to Westminster and out to the inner western suburbs, on a mix of longer double deck and shorter single deck routes, catching up on some service changes from 2025 along the way.

One or two electrics per day appear on the 45 amid the majority hybrids. Transport UK BYD Enviro400EV no 3424 of Walworth (WL) Garage captured at Morden Station, although I travelled on the following bus which was a hybrid.

*The 45 was amended in February 2025 to absorb the 118 between Brixton and Morden, being cut back at the other end from Elephant & Castle to Camberwell Green.*

Route 45: Morden - Camberwell Green

Early in 2025, I travelled from Brixton to Morden for the last time on Route 118, before it was withdrawn in February of that year and replaced by an extended 45. On this latest journey, I arrived at Morden by Underground to sample the revised 45 over its comparatively recent extension. The changes in February 2025 saw the 45 diverted away from Clapham Park (replaced by the 59 over that section) and rerouted to absorb the entire 118 to Morden, although at the other end it was cut back from Elephant & Castle to Camberwell Green. With only the short Brixton Hill - Camberwell section in common with the “old” 45, the “new” route might have been better under the 118 number, as it is now follows that route entirely but with a short extension!

The GAL Enviro400s on the 118 have been replaced by Transport UK Enviro400 MMCs on the 45 out of Walworth (WL) Garage, although one or two electrics turn out in support each day, with an example departing as I arrived at Morden Station. However, I awaited the next working, formed of Enviro400 MMC no 2521. Boarding with a few others, our bus was in the hands of a new driver, who was being instructed by a “Driver Mentor”, with various potential hazards and the finer points of positioning at stops being pointed out as we progressed.

Nevertheless, a smooth ride and we made reasonable time, despite this being a busy journey with more and more passengers being picked up as we made our way along the route. A decent run past Morden Hall Park and through suburbia to Mitcham Tram Stop, then the Cricket Green, Lower Green and Upper Green, passing Three Kings Pond to skirt the edge of Mitcham Common. The “green” section of route then largely over, we made our way through the fringes of suburban Pollards Hill up to Streatham Common Station, before turning onto the main Streatham High Road for the straight run to Brixton.

Luckily, the main road was fairly quiet at this time of day just after the morning peak and we made good progress, passing the site of the old Streatham (AK) Garage and Streatham Station up towards Brixton Hill and the still operational Brixton (BN) Garage at Telford Avenue. To our right, another bus garage passed was the old Brixton Tram Shed, now used as an overflow for BN. Then, downhill past Brixton Prison into Brixton Town Centre, with a large exodus of passengers at the busy stop opposite the Victoria Line station. Hanging a right at Brixton Police Station, it was then a short hop via Loughborough Junction to our destination at Camberwell Green, just around the corner from the operational garage of Walworth. A lengthy 1h20m run, but virtually on schedule.

The 45 dates back to 1950, when it was introduced between Farringdon St and Battersea Garage via Elephant & Castle, Camberwell Green, Brixton and Stockwell, as a replacement for Tram 34, although it was extended the following year to South Kensington. The route featured in the Trolleybus replacement scheme too, when in 1961 it was extended from Farringdon St to King’s Cross and Hampstead Heath in place of Trolleybus 513/613.

The initially simple route gradually became more complex, with different destinations at each end on different days of the week, as was common with many longer routes at the time. In 1972, the King’s Cross - Hampstead Heath section was replaced by the 46, but in 1978 it gained a new northern extension to Archway Station via withdrawn Route 17, although the latter route was later reintroduced on M-S leaving the 45 over this section on Suns only.

In 1990, new route 45A (later renumbered 345) took over the Brixton - South Ken leg, the 45 becoming Brixton - KIng’s Cross. The southern terminus moved first to Streatham Hill Telford Avenue and then to Atkins Road, which was later redesignated “Clapham Park” by TfL. The route then settled down until 2019, when it was cut back from King’s Cross to Elephant & Castle, being partially replaced by changes to the 40. This continued until the latest alterations in 2025 mentioned at the start of this section.

The 45 was one of the few to operate all three main variants of the RT (standard RT, RTL & RTW) at different times in the 1950s/60s. RM conversion came in 1966, interspersed with short periods of crew DM operation in the mid 70s. OPO came in 1985 with Titans, replaced by NV Olympians in 1998. Low floor conversion came in 2000 with AVL types, although PVLs later became the principal allocation, with appearances by EVL, WVL and E types thrown in for good measure.

The route’s long association with Camberwell (Q) Garage came to an end in 2017, when the 45 passed from Go Ahead to Abellio, moving across the road to Walworth (WL), where it had once been an inmate much earlier in its career. Enviro400 MMCs have been the principal type since, with Abellio selling out to Transport UK in 2021.

***Transport UK Enviro400H MMC no 2521 of Walworth (WL) Garage on the 45 at Camberwell Green after my ride on it from Morden Station.***

*This type is the main allocation on the route and despite the apparent countrified setting this is in the middle of built-up Inner London!*

Route 148: Camberwell Green - White City

At Camberwell Green, my intention was to transfer to the 148 up through Westminster out to White City. However, having just missed one, LVF was showing a significant gap in service, with 3 late-running southbound buses turned short at Elephant & Castle, on a 12 min interval service. The good news was that whatever had caused the delay earlier seemed to have ended, as the following buses were more or less on time and running through.

Eventually, First London New Routemaster LT86 of Shepherd’s Bush (S) Garage arrived at Camberwell Green only a few minutes late and, after a 10 min break, formed the next departure after a service gap of over 45 mins. Interestingly, a fair number of passengers appeared to have been waiting specifically for the 148, being longer distance travellers from Camberwell to Victoria, Marble Arch and Notting Hill. A reasonable trip, making our way along the busy Walworth Road with people on and off at most stops serving the shopping area along much of this section. Elephant & Castle was busy with traffic, but we were soon continuing on via Lambeth North and close to Waterloo Station before arriving at Westminster Bridge, which was thronged with tourists taking selfies in front of the Houses of Parliament and its clock tower often wrongly called Big Ben, actually the name of the Great Bell inside the Great Clock of Westminster.

Across Parliament Square and past the grand edifice of Westminster Abbey, before a bit of a slog along Victoria Street to Victoria Station - traffic light phasing needs sorting out here, as there tend to be delays for most of the day on this section. Further exchanges of clientele as we made our way up to Hyde Park Corner along the back of Buckingham Palace grounds, then into Park Lane, where the narrow lanes were causing a slight delay northbound. Once into the Bus Lane, a smooth run beside Hyde Park up to Marble Arch, where we turned left into Bayswater Road, passing along the northern edge of the park past Lancaster Gate and Queensway Stations to Notting Hill Gate.

A quieter run in terms of passengers from here on and we made good speed down to Holland Park and onwards to Shepherd’s Bush Green, where everyone apart from me alighted. Just me and the driver into Wood Lane up to the final stop opposite White City Bus Station, which we reached 1h20m after leaving Camberwell Green, a good run.

The 148 number is one I originally associated with East London, as an RT route between Leytonstone & Dagenham in the 1970s. Converted to OPO with DMS in 1977, it was later converted to T and then to DA single deck before withdrawal in 1993.

The number was reused in 2002 for a new route skirting Central London between Camberwell Green and Shepherd’s Bush in advance of the forthcoming Congestion Change Scheme, one of a number of similar routes introduced at this time to encourage greater use of public transport. The route has remained the same since apart from a short extension at the western end to White City in 2008 to serve the Westfield Shopping Centre.

Always operated out of Shepherd’s Bush Garage by London United (and its successor First Bus), principal types have been in turn TA, SP and LT classes, although other double deck types based at S have appeared at times. When I travelled, a couple of BCE electrics were out in support of the LTs.

***New Routemaster LT86 on the 148 stand at Camberwell Green before I rode the bus to White City.***

*Whilst the vehicle has no logos on this side, it is operated by First Bus from Shepherd’s Bush (S) Garage.*

Tube: White City - North Acton

From White City, I hopped on the Central Line a couple of stops to North Acton, for the second part of my journey sampling a couple of single deck local bus routes.

***The 218 began in 2019, operated by Tower Transit from Westbourne Park (X) Garage with Enviro200s. DML44187 is seen at North Acton Station in December of that year.***

*The Tower Transit logos were always quite small and can barely be distinguished on single deckers. Operations at X were sold to the RATP Group in 2023.*

Route 218: North Acton - Hammersmith

The 218 terminus is just outside North Acton Station and, since I last rode it, has passed from Tower Transit via the RATP Group to First Bus London. Also, it has been converted from diesel to electric using Wright GB Kite Electroliners. After a few minutes wait, sparking new WKE37111 of Westbourne Park (X) Garage hummed gently onto the stand. Following the short layover, I boarded, the only other passenger being a wheelchair user. The smart modern interior included yet another variation of information screen, which although showing the correct destination and next stop details, unusually displayed the time in am/pm format rather than 24 hour clock - it looked a little odd to see the time as 01.39 rather than 13.39, my initial thought being that I had been transported to the early hours of the morning!

Then we were off, turning into Wales Farm Road and across the A40 Western Avenue at Gypsy Corner, into Horn Lane and then into the suburban section at Noel Road, with the loop around North Acton Playing Fields. It was only then that we began to pick up more passengers, with a large crowd waiting at West Acton Station. Then it was down to the Uxbridge Road, swinging left to Acton Market Place, where many left us.

There followed a straight run past Acton Park to Acton Vale, passing the former Trolleybus terminus at Bromyard Avenue, where journeys on the 607, 655 & 666 used to turn in front of the prominent 6 storey Ministry of Pensions building built in the 1920s. Today, Bromyard House, as it is known, is a gated residential apartment block, the adjacent bus stand now used mainly by the 306 plus occasional short-workings on other routes.

We continued right into Askew Road, following this down to Goldhawk Road and straight across into Padenswick Road, passing Ravenscourt Park on our right. At the station of that name, we entered the one-way system on the western approach to the terminus at Hammersmith. After dropping most of our clients at the H&C Station, we made our way into the top level of the Bus Station, where our 40 min run was at an end.

The 218 is a number I still associate in my mind with the previous incarnation, which ran between Kingston & Staines via Esher, Walton-On-Thames, Shepperton and Laleham. Famously one of the last two routes to operate red RFs, it received LS Leyland Nationals in 1979, which lasted until 1986 when the route was transferred to London Country South West and became a Surrey County Council operation rather than a London one. The number changed and eventually the route disappeared in its original format.

The 218 number resurfaced in 2019 for a new route between North Acton and Hammersmith, replacing the 440 between North Acton & Acton and the 266 between Acton & Hammersmith. Originally operated by Tower Transit, it has passed through the subsequent ownerships of London Transit and London United under the RATP Group, before First Bus took over in late 2024. Originally operated with DML and then DE class Enviro200s, the WKE electrics have taken over in recent months.

First Bus acquired the operations at Westbourne Park (X) Garage from RATP Group in December 2024. In recent months, new Wright GB Kite Electroliners have entered service on the 218, like WKE37111 seen at North Acton Station before my journey aboard to Hammersmith.

*In addition to the 218 at Westbourne Park, examples have also converted the 33 and part of the 371 at Fulwell Garage.*

Route 72: Hammersmith Bridge - East Acton

From Hammersmith Bus Station, I took a short walk across the road and under Hammersmith Flyover to the north side of Hammersmith Bridge. Since this was closed to traffic in 2019, longstanding route 72 has terminated here, becoming a short route up to East Acton. However, service changes in late 2025 saw the 283 (which ran between Hammersmith & East Acton via a different route) withdrawn and the 72 diverted via the former 283 roads to compensate. In effect, the 72 is now the former 283 renumbered, with a short extension from Hammersmith Bus Station to Hammersmith Bridge Road!

When I arrived, there were a trio of Enviro200 MMCs on the stand, but the first pick up stop (officially) is on the other side of Hammersmith Bridge Road, a few yards away. I missed the first departure, but caught the second one 10 mins later, which was First London DLE30318 of Shepherd’s Bush (S) Garage. Surprisingly, there were a few passengers already aboard, who had presumably been allowed on unofficially at the stand - I’m not sure whether this is a normal occurrence? Annoyingly, there is then a double run around the one-way system to serve the Bus Station, meaning we were stuck in the habitual slow moving traffic at the northern end of the gyratory twice, before finally entering Shepherd’s Bush Road.

A slow run up to Brook Green, before the flow improved, although it was a gentle amble up to Shepherd’s Bush Green, stopping once again outside the famous Shepherd’s Bush Empire, now a music venue but built in 1903 as a music hall and from 1953-93 as the BBC Television Theatre, which I remember visiting to watch the recording of programmes such as “Crackerjack!” and “The Generation Game” many moons ago! We then deviated from the traditional 72 route, which ran direct up Wood Lane past the BBC Television Centre, instead turning left onto Uxbridge Road past Shepherd’s Bush Market. Lots of locals joining us here for the short ride into the White City Estate on the former 283 section of route.

The circuitous routeing through the estate is a little odd and can be seen from the accompanying diagram below. At one point, in the middle of Bloemfontein Road, a southbound stop is served by 72s in both directions, a source of potential confusion for the unwary. We then looped around past Queens Park Rangers Football Ground, back to Wood Lane north of White City. Then up Scrubs Lane under the Westway Viaduct, before turning left into Du Cane Road, named after Sir Edmund Frederick Du Cane, a prominent Victorian British Army Officer, who oversaw prison development in the 19th Century, including Wormwood Scrubs Prison which is on the road bearing his name. Next to the prison is Hammersmith Hospital, outside of which temporary lights were controlling single lane traffic and caused a few minutes delay. Eventually, we were through and continued to East Acton Station, before running up to the terminus at Brunel Road. An overlong 55 min journey on this comparatively short local route.

The 72 has been running in West London for many decades, in the 1950s it ran from East Acton via Hammersmith, Barnes, Roehampton, Kingston Vale and Tolworth to Esher with RTL and later RT crew operation. It later gained a M-F peaks extension at the northern end to/from Park Royal Stadium and at the other end to Hampton Court (with school journeys to Hampton Grammar School). The Park Royal extension was later replaced by a shorter one in M-F peaks from Du Cane Road to Brunel Road in East Acton. In 1973, the route began to retreat at the southern end, being cut back to Tolworth, although a Suns extension to Chessington Zoo was added. RM conversion came fairly late, in 1975, with OPO using DMS following in 1981.

A M-S shopping hours extension to Kingston came in 1983, together with a part Leyland National allocation, giving an unusual mixed double/single deck (DMS/LS) operation, although the DMS types were soon replaced with Ms. The Kingston extension (and the LS share) was withdrawn after only a short time in 1984. The section south of Roehampton to Tolworth came off in 1991, when the 265 took over this leg. The following year saw the 72 converted to DR Dart single deckers.

Low floor operation with DPS Darts occurred in 1999, until these began to be replaced by DE Enviro200s from 2009, although some older DPS types remained for a few more years. The route was dramatically cut back from Roehampton to Hammersmith in 2019 after closure of the bridge as mentioned earlier.

After many years associated with the old Riverside (R) Garage, the main allocation has been at Shepherd’s Bush (S) since 1981, except for a short term Norbiton (NB) share in the 80s and a brief period from Wood Lane (B) Outstation in the 90s, passing from London Buses to London United through its various ownerships to First Bus today.

Interestingly, the 72A suffix number has been used three times over the history of the route:

Hammersmith Brook Green - Roehampton, 1937-38, Daily with ST & STL operation, via a different route from the 72 in the Roehampton area, until the main 72 was revised to compensate.
North Wembley Preston Road / East Acton - Chessington Zoo, 1946-50, Summer Sats & Suns only with G, STL then RT type. Then replaced by the main 72 again.
East Acton - Tolworth, 1959-66, Suns only with RTL then RT operation. The main 72 on M-S ran via Westway back then, the 72A on Suns ran via Du Cane Road, hence the need for the suffix. In 1966, the whole daily service was altered to run via Du Cane Road under the plain 72 number.

***First Bus Enviro200 MMC DLE30319 of Shepherd’s Bush (S) Garage on the Hammersmith Bridge stand of the 72. Later, I rode this bus from East Acton back to Shepherd’s Bush.***

*The bus is seen beneath the Hammersmith Flyover near the north side of the bridge.*

***The 72 was altered in December 2025 to essentially replace the 283, being diverted via White City Estate instead of its former route direct along Wood Lane.***

*The map shows the different northbound and southbound routeings through the estate including the short section of Bloemfontein Road where buses in both directions operate southbound.*

Part Route 72: East Acton - Shepherd’s Bush

To finish, I returned part way along the 72 back to Shepherd’s Bush, this time on fellow Enviro200 MMC DLE 30319. A bit quicker on this trip, with the route this time through the White City Estate being westbound via Westway then southbound along the whole length of Bloemfontein Road to the Uxbridge Road. This area was used by the BBC TV “Monty Python” team in the 1970s to film various outdoor shots for some of their famous sketches, including the “Ministry of Silly Walks”, which began with John Cleese leaving a newsagent’s shop at the junction of Thorpebank Road and Dunraven Road nearby.

I alighted a little further on at Shepherd’s Bush Green after a 25 min trip and walked (normally!) to the nearby Central Line station for the journey home.

Watton

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