London Buses route 253 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Hackney Central and Euston, it is operated by Arriva London.
History[]
Route 253 commenced operating on 1 February 1961 between Aldgate bus station and Tottenham Court Road via Bethnal Green, Hackney Central, Clapton Pond, Stamford Hill, Manor House, Finsbury Park and Camden Town as a replacement for trolleybus route 653 with AEC Routemasters.
On 21 November 1987, the route was converted to one-man operation with Leyland Titans and MCW Metrobuses.
On 11 May 1991, the route was withdrawn south of Mornington Crescent station.
On 5 September 1992, the route was extended to Euston Bus Station.
By 1994 the route, now operated by Leaside Buses, was one of the busiest in London, with a peak vehicle requirement of 50 buses operating at a frequency of one bus every two minutes.
On 13 May 1995, Stamford Hill (SF) garage was announced closed and the allocation was transferred to Clapton (CT) garage.
On 20 July 2002, part of the allocation was moved to the re-opened Stamford Hill (SF) garage.
For many years, route 253 operated as two separate but overlapping routes, one from Euston Bus Station to Hackney Central station, and the other from Aldgate Station to Holloway Nag's Head. The latter service was split to form route 254 on 31 May 2003.
In 2003, Alexander ALX400 bodied DAF DB250LFs were introduced to convert the route to low floor.
On 14 January 2006, the route was rerouted northbound in Camden direct via Eversholt Street instead of Harrington Square.
On 1 April 2006, Clapton (CT) garage was announced closed and the route was reallocated to Stamford Hill (SF) garage.
On 5 June 2010, route 253 was retained by incumbent operator Arriva London with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs introduced.
On 6 June 2015, the route was retained by Arriva London with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B5LHs introduced.
On 17 October 2016, the Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B5LHs were replaced by brand New Routemasters.
On 6 November 2020, the route was transferred to Clapton (CT) garage.
On 15 February 2021, the route temporarily withdrawn between Mornington Crescent Station and Euston Bus Station due to roadworks on Eversholt Street.
In late April 2021, the route was restored to Euston Bus Station via Eversholt Street.
The route will be retained by Arriva London from 1 June 2024.
Current Route[]
Route 253 operates via these primary locations:
- Hackney Central Station Amhurst Road
- Lower Clapton
- Clapton Pond
- Clapton Station
- Stamford Hill Station
- Manor House Station
- Finsbury Park Station
- Seven Sisters Road
- Holloway Nag's Head
- Holloway Prison
- Camden Road Station
- Camden Town Station
- Mornington Crescent Station
- Euston Bus Station