London Buses route 486 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Bexleyheath and North Greenwich, it is operated by London Central.
History
Route 486 commenced operating on 24 February 2001, running between North Greenwich and Welling Corner via Millennium Busway (adjacent to West Parkside - Millennium Village and Southern Way) - Roads within retail park) - Greenwich Peninsula Sainsbury's - Peartree Way - Bugsby's Way - Anchor & Hope Lane - Charlton Church Lane - Charlton Station - Charlton Church Lane - The Village - Charlton Park Road - Little Heath - Repository Road - Stadium Road - Queen Elizabeth Hospital - Baker Road - - Shooters Hill Road - Shooters Hill - Bellegrove Road - Welling Corner. The route was introduced to replace routes M1 and M2. The route initially operated by London Central from their New Cross (NX) garage using East Lancs Myllennium bodied DAF SB220s.
In 2001, the route was rerouted at Greenwich peninsular via dedicated Busway instead of West Parkside.
In 2002, the route was extended from Welling to Bexleyheath, a Wright bodied Volvo B6LE and the allocation was transferred from New Cross (NX) to Bexleyheath (BX) garages.
On 24 February 2007, the route was retained by London Central and converted to double deck using Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s.
On 12 September 2015, a half hourly service on weekend nights was introduced.
In November 2015, a Wright StreetDeck demonstrator was introduced.
In August 2016, a brand new Optare MetroDecker demonstrator was introduced.
In December 2016, the Wright StreetDeck demonstrator was withdrawn.
In February 2017, the Optare MetroDecker demonstrator was withdrawn.
Current route
Route 486 operates via these primary locations:
- Bexleyheath Market Place
- Welling Corner
- Bellegrove Road (for Welling Station)
- Shooters Hill
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital
- Charlton
- Charlton Station
- Greenwich Peninsula
- North Greenwich Bus Station