London Buses route 205 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Paddington and Bow Church, it is operated by Stagecoach London.
History
Route 205 commenced operating on 31 August 2002, replacing the former SL1 (StationLink 1) service, which had begun as an accessible route called Carelink for those with disabilities operated by National Bus Company owned Beeline. This route was withdrawn in 1988, and it became a London Transport contracted route. It was initially operated by London General, but in 1992 the contract was won by Thorpes. For a short period the route continued to be branded as Stationlink.
Route 205 was introduced as part improvements in preparation for the introduction of London congestion charge in February 2003. It connects Paddington, Marylebone, Euston, King's Cross and Liverpool Street termini stations, as well as many London Underground stations following the northern part of the Circle line. A route 705, linking stations on the southern section of the Circle Line, was also created but later withdrawn.
The route was initially operated by Metroline from their Cricklewood (W) garage using Plaxton President bodied Dennis Tridents.
On 9 November 2002, the allocation was transferred from Cricklewood (W) to Perivale (PV) garages and at the same time was diverted westbound at Kings Cross to operate direct via Euston Road instead of via York Way.
On 16 June 2007, it was extended from Whitechapel to Mile End Station, and was converted into 24-hour service at the same time.
In Summer 2007, brand new East Lancs Olympus bodied Scania N230UDs were introduced to increase the frequency of the route.
On 29 August 2009, the route passed to East London from their Bow (BW) garage using brand new Scania OmniCitys. At the same time, the route was extended further east, from Mile End to Bow Church.
On 31 August 2013, the night service on this 24 hour route was withdrawn and replaced by night bus route N205, the existing night-time services on the 205 was simply re-numbered as N205 and extended to Leyton Drapers Field via Stratford.
In July 2014, the Scania OmniCitys were replaced by brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400Hs
On 30 August 2014, the route was retained by Stagecoach London.
Current Route
- Paddington Cleveland Terrace
- Paddington Station
- Edgware Road Stations
- Marylebone Station
- Baker Street Station
- Regent's Street Station
- Great Portland Street Station
- Warren Street Station
- Euston Square Station
- Euston Station Bus Station
- St Pancras Station
- Kings Cross Station
- Angel Station
- Old Street Station
- Shoreditch High Street Station
- Liverpool Street Station
- Algate Station
- Aldgate East Station
- Whitechapel Station
- Stepney Green Station
- Queen Mary University
- Mile End Station
- Bow Road Station
- Bow Church Station