London Buses route 16 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Brent Park, Superstores and Paddington, it is operated by Metroline.
History
The 16 is a long-standing, high profile route following a nearly straight route between Victoria Station and Cricklewood Garage, largely along the Edgware Road. Twenty LGOC B-type buses were to be used on route 16 but only three were used after the war had ended. On 4 June 1927, LS (London Six) type buses with six wheels went into service on route 16. On 6 August 1929, LT 1 entered service on route 16A (Victoria to Cricklewood) with new livery, running from Cricklewood (W) garage. Until 13 June 1970, the route ran beyond Cricklewood to Sudbury Town Station, although the section between Neasden and Sudbury Town was withdrawn and replaced by route 245. The Northern terminus was altered slightly on 19 November 1973, to terminate at Neasden Shopping Centre. On 4 June 1985, the route gained a slight extension to Brent Park Tesco, Monday to Saturday shopping hours, running daily by 5 September 1992. The section between Neasden and Cricklewood Garage was withdrawn on 11 October 1997 and replaced by new route 316 when the route was retained by Metroline.
Metroline frequently cascades vehicles from one route to another, usually with good reason, varying from passenger loadings and vehicle layouts to economy in engineering. One route which has had more than its share of cascades is the 16, which seemed for a time to be getting new vehicles every summer, though the allocation does now appear to have settled down. First to come were Volvo Olympians), as an upgrade from MCW Metrobuses, in September 1998. AV 23-38 later moved to the 260 and were replaced by an equal number of new Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents. Those were the first of what was destined to be a short run of success with Metroline for Alexander, as opposed to the Plaxton President which had been specified earlier (though by MTL, before the takeover by Metroline) and subsequently became standard.
However, in 2000 these were in turn cascaded, and replaced by the last Alexander-bodied buses ordered by Metroline, TAL 118-134. This batch of TALs was thus unique. The TAs moved to route 32, but have subsequently drifted back partly to cover an increase in service on the 16. The 16 also suffered the indignity of a large number of Dennis Dart SLF single deckers in early 2003, to free up double deckers for the much needed conversion of routes 139 and 189 to double deck. However, the full double-deck operation was re-achieved by 17 February 2003, when the Mayor's congestion charge began.
On 12 October 2002, the route was retained by Metroline.
In 2006, existing Plaxton President bodied Dennis Tridents were introduced alongside the existing Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents.
In 2007, the Monday to Friday peak service was reduced slightly, with the introduction of a new route 332, which incidentally replaced the 316 between Cricklewood and Neasden, that route having been introduced to replace the same section of route 16 ten years earlier. Another change to vehicle type occurred in mid-2008 when Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s were introduced. These buses were bought for the new contracts on routes 297, 460 and 603, although they were allocated to Cricklewood Garage instead, in order to compare their performance with the earlier batch bought for route 332, and hybrid versions due for trial.
In December 2008, brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400Hs were introduced alongside the existing Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s.
On 10 October 2009, the route was retained by Metroline.
On 26 September 2015, the Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s and Alexander Dennis Enviro 400Hs were replaced by brand New Routemasters.
On 8 October 2016, the route was retained by Metroline.
On 29 April 2023, the route was withdrawn between Edgware Road Station and Victoria, and diverted to Paddington via route 332.[1] At the same time, the route was extended from Cricklewood Bus Garage to Brent Park Tesco's via route 332 replacing the withdrawn route 332.
Express Route 616
Route 616 began operating on 15 June 1970 as an express service for route 16, running between Cricklewood and Oxford Circus, Monday to Friday, but later reduced to peak hours only, before being replaced by route 16A in 1976.
Route 16A
Route 16A replaced the express route 616 on 31 January 1976, but running between Victoria Station (not Oxford Circus as route 616 had) and Brent Cross via Edgware Road, Cricklewood Broadway, and Staples Corner, Monday to Saturdays. The route was changed from one man operation to Routemaster operation for a period between 25 May 1980 and 21 November 1987. The route was diverted on 25 April 1981 at Marble Arch to serve Oxford Circus once again. On 27 April 1991 the evening service ran between Brent Cross and Kilburn Park Station, although by 30 October 1994 the route was running between Brent Cross and Oxford Circus daily (including Sundays) during shopping hours. On 10 October 1997, the route was withdrawn, being partly replaced by new route 189, running via Abbey Road and Baker Street.
Current Route
Route 16 operates via these primary locations:
- Brent Park Superstores
- Cricklewood Bus Garage
- Cricklewood Broadway
- Kilburn Station
- Brondesbury Station
- Kilburn High Road Station
- Maida Vale Station Elgin Avenue
- Edgware Road Station
- Paddington Station
References
External Links
- London Bus Routes Route 16 Gallery
- London Bus Routes Route 16A Gallery
- London Bus Routes Route 616 Gallery
- Full Timetable (PDF)
