London Buses route 42

London Buses route 42 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between East Dulwich and Shoreditch, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.

42
Go-Ahead London Alexander Dennis Enviro400H MMC on Old Kent Road
Overview
Operator	Go-Ahead London
Garage	Camberwell
Vehicle	Alexander Dennis Enviro400H MMC
Peak vehicle requirement	10
Night-time	No night service
Route
Start	East Dulwich
Via	Camberwell Green Bricklayers Arms Aldgate
End	Shoreditch
Length	5 miles (8.0 km)
Service
Level	Daily
Frequency	About every 11-20 minutes
Journey time	23-55 minutes
Operates	05:00 until 00:30

History

Route 42 commenced operation on 25 July 1912 as a daily route between Finsbury Park station and Clapton Pond via Seven Sisters Road, Amhurst Park and Upper Clapton Road. On 26 August 1912, it was extended from Clapton to Tower of London via Hackney, Whitechapel Road, Aldgate and Minories. From 14 April 1913 it was extended on Mondays to Saturdays from Tower of London to Camberwell Green via Tower Bridge, Old Kent Road and Albany Road.^[1]

The route was reduced from a daily allocation of eight vehicles at the beginning of 1970 to only three by 1985, when the evening service was also withdrawn. Upon being tendered, in 1987 the route passed to London Country South East.^[2]

Route 42 was included in the sale of Limebourne Buses to Connex in July 2001. Upon being re-tendered, it passed to London Easylink on 20 April 2002. However, on 21 August 2002, London Easylink went into liquidation.^[3]

Route 42 was taken over by Transport for London subsidiary East Thames Buses. On 3 October 2009, East Thames Buses was sold to Go-Ahead London, which included a five-year contract to operate route 42.^[4][5][6]

On 1 October 2016, the route was extended from Denmark Hill to East Dulwich via Dulwich Hospital with double-decker buses introduced.^[7][8] On the same date, the route was temporarily withdrawn between Tower Bridge Road and Liverpool Street bus station until 23 December 2016 while Tower Bridge was closed for refurbishment.^[9]

In 2021, the frequency of the service was reduced from 4.8 buses per hour to 4 during Monday-Friday peak times, and from 5 buses per hour to 4 during Monday-Saturday daytimes.^[10]

Current route

Route 42 operates via these primary locations:^[11]

• East Dulwich Sainsbury's
• East Dulwich station
• North Dulwich station
• Denmark Hill
• Denmark Hill station
• King's College Hospital
• Camberwell Green
• Bricklayers Arms
• City Hall
• Tower Bridge Road
• Tower Bridge
• Tower of London
• Tower Gateway station
• Aldgate station
• Liverpool Street bus station for Liverpool Street station
• Shoreditch Appold Street

References

1. David A. Ruddom (1985), Motor omnibus routes in London: November 1908 to December 1912, vol. 2
2. McLachlan, Tom (1995). London Buses 1985-1995: Managing The Change. Venture Publications. pp. 98–99. ISBN 1-898432-74-0.
3. Buses recalled as firm goes into bankruptcy BBC News 21 August 2002
4. Go-Ahead Acquires East Thames Buses Go-Ahead Group 30 July 2009 Archived 22 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
5. Go-Ahead buys East Thames Buses Bus & Coach Professional 3 August 2009 Archived 24 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
6. East Thames Buses Archived 24 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine Go-Ahead London
7. Have your say on our proposal for an extension to bus route 42 Transport for London 15 July 2016
8. Bus Services Changes 19 August to 8 October inclusive Transport for London
9. Tower Bridge Closure Archived 11 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine Transport for London
10. Mortimer, Josiah (21 December 2021). "The 41 London bus routes that have quietly been cut in 2021". MyLondon. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
11. Route 42 Map Transport for London

External links

• Media related to London Buses route 42 at Wikimedia Commons
• Timetable