London Buses route 31 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between White City and Camden Town, it is operated by Metroline.
History
Route 31 commenced operation on 7 September 1911 between South Hampstead North Star and Chelsea Stanley Arms via Kilburn - Westbourne Park - Notting Hill Gate - Kensington - Earl's Court. On 7 December 1911, the north end was moved to Finchley Road Station. The route was extended north to Gospel Oak on 31 December 1912, but was cut back to South Hampstead on 19 January 1913. On 15 May 1916, the route was extended to Tulse Hill via Swiss Cottage - Chalk Farm - Camden Town - Euston, replacing route 68. On 30 April 1917, the route was cut back to Camden Town, with the section southeast of there replaced by reintroduced route 68. The route was initially operated by London Transport from their Battersea (B) and Chalk Farm (CF) garages using NS class AEC double deck motor buses.
On 13 February 1935, part of the allocation was transferred to Holloway (J) garage.
On 2 October 1935, the Holloway (J) allocation was transferred to Battersea (B) and Chalk Farm (CF) garages.
On 4 August 1937, the NS class AEC double deck motor buses were replaced by AEC Regents.
On 3 May 1950, the AEC Regents were replaced by Leyland Titan RTLs.
On 2 May 1951, the Leyland Titan RTLs were replaced by Leyland Titan RTWs.
On 1 November 1965, the Leyland Titan RTWs were replaced by Leyland Titan RTLs.
On 1 March 1967, the Leyland Titan RTLs were replaced by AEC Regent III RTs.
On 15 February 1969, AEC Routemasters were introduced.
On 17 June 1972, the route was converted to full AEC Routemaster operation.
On 4 September 1982, the Battersea (B) and Chalk Farm (CF) allocation were transferred to Westbourne Park (X) garage.
On 7 February 1987, part of the allocation was transferred to Holloway (HT) garage.
On 21 November 1987, the Sunday service was converted to one-person operation using Leyland Titans and part of the allocation was transferred to Chalk Farm (CF) garage.
On 15 April 1989, the route passed to CentreWest operating from their Westbourne Park (X) garage and was converted to midibus operation with Alexander bodied Mercedes-Benz midibuses.
On 18 July 1992, the Alexander bodied Mercedes-Benz midibuses were replaced by Wright Handybus bodied Dennis Darts.
On 1 June 1998, the route was converted to low floor operation using Marshall Capital bodied Dennis Dart SLFs.
On 29 May 1999, the route was withdrawn between Notting Hill Gate and Chelsea, this section was replaced by new route 328.
On 1 May 2004, the route was retained by First London.
On 5 June 2004, the route was converted back to double deck operation using brand new Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs.
On 2 December 2006, the route was extended to Shepherd's Bush Green via Route 94.
On 29 November 2008, the route was extended to White City Bus Station in order to coincide with the opening of Westfield London.
On 30 April 2011, the route was retained by First London.
On 1 October 2011, the allocation was transferred to Atlas Road (AS) garage.
On 22 June 2013, the route was included in the sale of First London's Atlas Road (AS) garage to Tower Transit.
On 1 July 2017, Atlas Road (AS) garage was announced closed and the allocation was transferred back to Westbourne Park (X) garage.
On 28 April 2018, the route passed to Metroline operating from their Perivale West (PA) garage using Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs.
In August 2019, the Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs were replaced by existing MCV EvoSeti bodied Volvo B5LHs.
On 5 March 2022, Perivale West (PA) was announced closed and the allocation was transferred to Willesden Junction (WJ) garage.
The allocation will transfer to Holloway (HT) garage from 4 May 2024.
Current Route
Route 31 operates via these primary locations:
- White City Bus Station
- Shepherd's Bush Stations
- Holland Park Station
- Notting Hill Gate Station
- Westbourne Park Station
- Maida Hill The Chippenham
- Kilburn Park Station
- Kilburn High Road Station
- South Hampstead Station
- Swiss Cottage Station
- Chalk Farm Station
- Camden Town Station Bayham Street
External Links
Gallery
