London Buses Route 220 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Willesden Junction Station and Wandsworth, it is operated by London United.
History[]
Route 220 commenced operation on 20 July 1960 between West Croydon and Park Royal Stadium via Mitcham Common - Mitcham - Tooting Broadway - Garratt Lane - Wandsworth - Putney - Fulham Palace Road - Hammersmith - Shepherd's Bush - White City - Harrow Road - Scrubs Lane - Harlesden - Acton Lane - Abbey Road. The route was initially operated by Shepherd's Bush (S) garage using AEC Routemasters. The route was introduced as part of the Trolleybus Replacement Programme for route 630.
On 31 December 1966, the route was withdrawn between Mitcham and West Croydon, with weekend journeys terminating at Tooting, but extended north to Willesden Junction.
On 2 January 1971, the route was withdrawn between Tooting and Mitcham and was converted to one man operation using Daimler Fleetlines.
On 31 January 1981, part of the allocation was transferred to Wandsworth (WD) garage.
On 4 September 1982, the route was withdrawn between Park Royal and Willesden Junction station.
On 31 March 1983, MCW Metrobuses were introduced.
On 21 November 1983, the route was converted to full MCW Metrobus operation.
On 11 July 1987, the Wandsworth (WD) allocation was transferred to Shepherd's Bush (S) garage.
On 1 April 1989, the route passed to London United but still operating from Shepherd's Bush (S) garage using MCW Metrobuses.
On 25 May 1991, the route was withdrawn between Wandsworth and Tooting, this section was replaced by new route 270.
During the 1990s, the route began to suffer from punctuality issues due to traffic congestion on its central section between Shepherd's Bush and Putney Bridge. The route became the first in London to be systematically upgraded with bus priority measures.
In 1997 bus lanes had been installed along most of this section.
On 27 March 1993, the Sunday allocation was transferred to Wood Lane (B) garage and the Sunday service was converted to midibus operation using Plaxton Pointer bodied Dennis Darts.
On 1 April 1995, Wood Lane (B) garage was announced closed, the Sunday allocation was transferred back to Shepherd's Bush (S) garage and the Sunday service was converted back to double deck service using MCW Metrobuses.
On 17 October 1998, the route was retained by London United.
On 18 March 2000, the route was converted to low floor operation using brand new Alexander ALX400 bodied Volvo B7TLs.
On 22 October 2005, the route was retained by London United and was converted into a 24-hour service.
In October 2010, brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400Hs and existing 10.5m Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents were introduced alongside the existing Alexander ALX400 bodied Volvo B7TLs.
On 20 October 2012, the route was retained by London United RATP with brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s introduced and the daytime allocation was transferred to Park Royal (PK) garage.
In November 2013, existing 9.9m Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents were introduced alongside the existing Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s.
On 14 July 2014, due to the temporary closure of Putney Bridge, the route temporarily had its southern terminus relocated from Wandsworth to Putney Bridge.
On 28 September 2014, the route was restored to Wandsworth.
On 21 October 2017, the route was retained by London United, the night time allocation was transferred to Park Royal (PK) garage and the route was converted to a full Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 operation.
On 11 November 2017, Park Royal (PK) garage was announced closed and the allocation was transferred to Park Royal (RP) garage.
In June 2020, existing Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LHs were temporarily introduced alongside the existing Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s.
In April 2021, the route was converted back to a full Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 operation.
On 22 October 2022, the route was retained by London United using existing Alexander Dennis Enviro400s.
On 2 March 2023, existing Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B5LHs were introduced alongside the Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s.
On 11 March 2023, existing Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LHs were introduced alongside existing Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s and Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B5LHs.
On 12 July 2023, the route was converted to a full Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 and Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LH operation.
Current Route[]
Route 220 operates via these primary locations:
- Willesden Junction Station Station Approach
- Harlesden Jubilee Clock
- White City Station
- Shepherd's Bush Station
- Hammersmith Bus Station
- Charing Cross Hospital
- Putney Bridge Station
- Wandsworth High Street
- Wandsworth Southside Shopping Centre
External Links[]
Gallery[]
