London Buses route 132 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between North Greenwich and Bexleyheath, it is operated by London Central.
History []
Route 132 commenced operation on 3 October 1934 running from Lewisham, Rennell Street - Lee Green - Eltham Green - Eltham Church - Bexley Road - Blackfen - Blendon - Bexley Village - Bezley Lane - Shepherd's Lane - West Hill - Dartford Westgate Street. The route was initally operated by London Transport using existing LT type buses.
On 9 September 1936, the Monday to Saturday service was withdrawn between Eltham and Lewisham.
On 12 October 1938, the route was withdrawn between Bexley and Dartford except for the afternoon journeys operating to Bexley Hospital.
On 29 November 1939, the route was changed to form a circular route going via Danson Road - Crook Log - Bexleyheath - Bourne Road - Bexley - Blendon - Blackfen - Eltham Well Hall Station.
On 13 April 1949, the LT type buses that were used on the route had been replaced by the RTL type buses.
On 4 May 1955, the RTL type buses were replaced by the AEC Regent III RT type buses.
On 4 March 1959, the circular route was discontinued and replaced by a service from Eltham Well Hall station to Bexleyheath garage via Blendon, Danson Road, and Crook Log. As part of the Trolleybus Replacement Programme, journeys on weekdays and Saturday mornings continued onto Erith.
On 1 July 1964 saw the route change again, always starting at Eltham, to Bexleyheath garage (on Sundays), onto Erith, Belvedere, Abbey Wood, Plumstead and Woolwich Parsons Hill (Monday - Saturday), and onto Woolwich Road Victoria Way (weekday peaks only). By 18 April 1970, the route had been extended from Bexleyheath to Slade Green, terminating at Bexleyheath garage on Saturdays and Sundays only.
On 5 January 1974 the first double deck bus was operated on the 132, and on 1 March 1975 the Saturday service was extended to Slade Green, to help out with the increasing population wanting a link to Bexleyheath shopping area.
On 22 April 1978, the route was extended south of the A207 (once Watling Street), serving Eltham station via Blackfen, Blendon and Bexley village to Bexleyheath.
Upon being tendered out, route 132 was operated by Boro'line from 16 January 1988 to 17 February 1992, then Kentish Bus until 24 January 1998, followed by Harris Bus. Following the latter collapsing, the route returned to London Regional Transport, through its East Thames Buses subsidiary on 25 March 2000.
On 24 March 2007, the Optare Excels had been replaced by existing Volvo Merit bodied SB120s.
On 24 January 2009, the route was extended westwards via the Greenwich Peninsula to North Greenwich bus station.
On 3 October 2009, East Thames Buses was sold to London General, which included a five-year contract to operate route 132.
Since 10 October 2009, part of the route from Eltham to Bexleyheath has been covered at night by night bus route N21.
On 7 November 2009, the allocation was transferred to London Central's Bexleyheath (BX) garage.
On 1 December 2012, the route was converted back to double deck operation using Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TLs.
In 2013, existing Alexander Dennis Enviro400s were introduced alongside the existing Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TLs.
On 12 September 2015, a half hourly service on weekend nights was introduced.
On 1 October 2016, the route was retained by London Central.
In November 2016, the Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TLs and Alexander Dennis Enviro400s were replaced by existing Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs.
On 20 March 2020, along with the other routes, the 24-hour weekend night service was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 2 October 2021, the route was retained by London Central using existing Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs.
On 8 July 2022, brand new Enviro400 City EV bodied BYD D8UR-DDs were introduced alongside the existing Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs.
On 6 August 2022, the route converted to a full Enviro400 City EV bodied BYD D8UR-DD operation.
The 24-hour weekend night service will be reintroduced from TBA.
Current Route []
Route 132 operates via these primary locations:
- North Greenwich Bus Station (For the O2)
- Millennium Village
- Greenwich Peninsula (Non-stop between Greenwich Peninsula and Blackheath Sun-in-the-Sands via the A102)
- Blackheath Sun-in-the-Sands
- Kidbrooke Park Road
- Kidbrooke
- Rochester Way
- Eltham Station
- Eltham High Street
- Avery Hill
- Blackfen George Staples
- Blendon Penhill Road
- Bridgen The Anchor
- Bexley
- Gravel Hill
- Bexleyheath Town Centre
External Links[]
Gallery[]
iBus[]
https://londonbuses.co.uk/audio/132.wav