London Buses route 59

59
Arriva London New Routemaster on Lancaster Place
Overview
OperatorArriva London
GarageBrixton
VehicleNew Routemaster[1]
Route
StartStreatham Hill
ViaBrixton
Kennington
Waterloo
Holborn
City Thameslink station
EndSt Bartholomew's Hospital

London Buses route 59 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Streatham Hill and St Bartholomew's Hospital, it is operated by Arriva London.

History

Arriva London Alexander ALX400 bodied DAF DB250 at King's Cross in June 2008

Route 59 was introduced in 1999 in order to replace part of route 109 and also provide a service between Streatham and Euston station. It was and still is contracted to Arriva London.[2]

On 10 November 2007 the route was extended from Euston to King's Cross. The move, which was intended to provide a direct link between Waterloo and St Pancras stations, coincided with the relocation of the Eurostar terminal.[3]

On 20 December 2013, thirty people were injured when the driver of a route 59 bus swerved to avoid a vehicle and hit a tree in Kennington.[4][5][6] Seven people were seriously injured.[7]

New Routemasters were introduced on 22 March 2016. The rear platform remains closed at all times except from when the bus is at bus stops.[1]

On 29 June 2019, the route was withdrawn between Euston and King's Cross.[8][9]

On 23 November 2022, it was announced that route 59 would be rerouted to run to St Bartholomew's Hospital instead of Euston following a consultation. This change was implemented on 29 April 2023 with the withdrawal of the 521.[10][11]

Current route

Route 59 operates via these primary locations:[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Arriva London's route 59 converts to New Routemasters". Arriva London. 23 March 2016.
  2. ^ Route 59 (third) Archived 14 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine busesatwork.co.uk
  3. ^ Route 59 extended to St Pancras and King's Cross Transport for London 30 October 2007
  4. ^ "London Bus Crash Leaves 32 Passengers Injured". Sky News. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  5. ^ Saul, Heather (20 December 2013). "Kennington bus crash: 32 injured after double decker hits tree in south London". The Independent. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  6. ^ Prynne, Miranda; Payton, Matthew (20 December 2013). "Seven people seriously injured and 25 others hurt in Kennington Road bus crash". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  7. ^ "London bus crash: Seven people seriously injured". BBC News. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Permanent Bus Changes 12 April 2019 to 30 June 2019" (PDF). content.tfl.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  9. ^ Munro, Vicky (16 April 2019). "The London bus routes TfL has decided to scrap". MyLondon. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Central London Bus Review 2022: Decision summary and next steps" (PDF). TfL Have Your Say. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Central London bus changes". TfL. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  12. ^ Route 59 Map Transport for London