London Buses route 359 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Addington and Purley, it is operated by Metrobus.
History[]
Route 359 commenced operation on 21 March 1998 between Forestdale and Selsdon Farley Road via Featherbed Lane - Selsdon Park Road - Heathfield Vale - Broadcoombe - Tedder Road - Addington Road as a Monday to Saturday service. The route was initially operated by Metrobus from their Orpington (MB) garage using Leyland Lynxes.
On 20 May 2000, the route was rerouted in Selsdon and was extended from Forestdale to New Addington. The route was converted to low floor using Plaxton Pointer 2 bodied Dennis Dart SLFs.
On 18 May 2002, the allocation was transferred to Godstone (GD) garage.
On 25 February 2006, Godstone (GD) garage was announced closed and the allocation was transferred to Croydon (C) garage.
On 25 March 2006, the route was withdrawn between Addington and New Addington and the Court Wood Lane loop was withdrawn.
On 26 March 2011, the route was retained by Metrobus.
In July 2014, the Go-Ahead Group restructured its bus operations, which included the transfer of Route 359 from Metrobus to Go-Ahead London.
On 24 October 2015, the route was retained by Metrobus with MCV Evolution bodied MAN 14.240's introduced and was extended from Selsdon to Purley via Sanderstead and Purley Downs Road. A Sunday service was introduced at the same time.
In October 2018, Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 Darts were introduced alongside the existing MCV Evolution bodied MAN 14.240s.
In November 2018, the route was converted to full Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 Dart operation.
On 22 October 2022, the route was retained by Metrobus. At the same time, the frequency was reduced from every 30 to every 45 minutes reducing the PVR from 3 to 2.
On 18 February 2023, the Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 Darts were replaced by existing Enviro200 MMC EV bodied BYD D8URs.
Current Route []
Route 359 operates via these primary locations:
- Addington Village Tramlink & Bus Station
- Monks Hill
- Selsdon
- Sanderstead
- Purley Downlands Precinct