London Buses route 88 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Parliament Hill Fields and Clapham Common, it is operated by London General.
History[]
Route 88 was the first "Metropolitan" route to receive AEC NS-Type buses, running between Acton Green and Mitcham. Route 88 ran from Acton Green to Mitcham (Mon-Fri)/St Helier (Mon-Fri peaks/Sat)/Belmont (Sundays) in 1950. It was extended further to Banstead Hospital (Sundays pm journeys) on 20 August 1961, It was withdrawn from Belmont on 5 January 1974 and extended Sunday journeys to Merton garage on 25 April 1981.
Route 88 was rerouted to Turnham Green on 13 August 1988. It was withdrawn between Turnham Green and Marble Arch on 22 September 1990 and replaced by new route 94. It was withdrawn between Clapham Common and Mitcham on 29 September 1990 and Oxford Circus and Marble Arch on 15 August 1992.
Between 15 May 1993 and 22 March 1997, Northern Counties bodied Volvo B10Bs were used to run the route. For some time, the route was the only one to use the buses.
On 12 December 1998, the route was retained by London General.
Because of a lack of stand space at Oxford Circus, the route was extended to Camden Town after the withdrawn of route 135 on 2 September 2000.
On 2 September 2000, the route was converted to low floor operation using Plaxton President bodied Dennis Tridents.
On 13 December 2003, the route was retained by London General.
On 2 April 2004, the route was converted into a 24-hour service.
In May 2009, the Plaxton President bodied Dennis Tridents were replaced by Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TLs.
On 11 December 2010, the route was retained by London General with Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s and Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs introduced.
On 1 June 2013, brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400Hs were introduced alongside the existing Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s and Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs.
On 22 August 2015, the Alexander Dennis Enviro 400Hs, Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s, and Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs were replaced by brand new New Routemasters.
On 9 December 2017, the route was retained by London General.
On 8 August 2018, TfL released a consultation in which they propose rerouting the 88 between Great Portland Street and Camden Town via Albany Street, it would then run on the Parliament Hill Fields following the current routing of Route C2 which would be withdrawn altogether. Should the change be implemented in early 2019, route 88 would no longer serve Euston Road, Warren Street, Hampstead Road or Mornington Crescent.
On 30 March 2019, the route was extended from Camden Town to Parliament Hill Fields via the withdrawn route C2 and it was re-routed between Great Portland Street and Camden Town via Albany Street. At the same time, the New Routemasters were replaced by Alexander Dennis Enviro 400Hs, Enviro 400 MMC bodied Alexander Dennis E40Hs and Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LHs.
The route will be retained by London General using brand new electric double deckers from 7 December 2024.
Current Route[]
Route 88 operates via these primary locations:
- Parliament Hill Fields Highgate Road
- Kentish Town Station
- Camden Town Station for Camden Market
- Mornington Crescent Station
- Warren Street Station
- Great Portland Street Station
- Oxford Circus Station
- Conduit Street for Hamley's Toy Store
- Piccadilly Circus Station
- Trafalgar Square for Charing Cross Station
- Horse Guards Parade
- Westminster Station
- Houses of Parliament
- Horseferry Road
- Tate Britain
- Vauxhall Bridge Road
- Vauxhall Bus Station
- Stockwell Station
- Clapham North Station
- Clapham High Street Station
- Clapham Common Station
- Clapham Common Old Town
Gallery[]
External Links[]
iBus[]
https://londonbuses.co.uk/audio/088.wav
