London Buses route 498 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Queen's Hospital and Brentwood, it is operated by Stagecoach London.
History
Route 498 commenced operating on 16 December 2005 replacing commercial route 351 from Chelmsford to Romford. The route was initially operated by Arriva Southend from their Grays Garage using Alexander ALX400 bodied DAF DB250LFs, these were eventually replaced by Wright Cadets.
In 2008, the route passed to First London operating from their Dagenham (DM) garage using brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 Darts. The frequency on Sunday was increased to every 30 minutes at the same time.
In 2012, the route was converted to double deck using Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 and Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs.
In 2013, the route was extended from Romford Station to Queens Hospital via South Street, Oldchurch Road and Oldchurch Rise.
On 22 June 2013, route 498 passed to Blue Triangle operating from their Rainham (BE) garage using Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s and Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs.
In 2014, the Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs were replaced by Optare Olympus bodied Scania N230UDs.
On 27 June 2015, route 498 passed to Stagecoach London operating from their Romford (NS) garage with Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents introduced.
In July 2015, the Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents were replaced by brand new Enviro 400 MMC bodied Alexander Dennis E40D's.
Current Route
- Queen's Hospital
- Romford
- Gallows Corner
- Harold Park
- Brentwood High Street
- Brentwood Sainsbury's
