An unusual feature of the route is its use of the Blackwall Tunnel, a source of severe delays which leads to the route often being cited as amongst the least reliable in London.[1][2]
Two batches of double deck buses were specifically built for use in the Blackwall and Rotherhithe Tunnels, with specially shaped roofs to improve clearance on the corners. On 14 April 1937, the last solid-tyred AEC NS-Type bus in London operated on route 108.[3] In 1937, forty STL-type buses with convex-shaped roofs made with Blackwall Tunnel in mind were used on routes 108 and 82 and allocated to Athol Street (C) garage in Poplar.[4]
Harris Bus ran into financial difficulties in December 1999, and as a result operations of its contracted routes were taken over by a new subsidiary of London Buses itself, trading as East Thames Buses. East Thames Buses initially ran its routes north of the Thames from the former London Forest garage in Ash Grove, along with the Harris base at Belvedere.[5]
Route 108 became the first bus route to serve the Millennium Dome at the Greenwich Peninsula during construction. The stop was initially inside the security area, and was used by staff only.[6]
On 3 October 2009, East Thames Buses was sold to Go-Ahead London, which included a five-year contract to operate route 108.[7][8][9][10] Increased capacity was introduced on route 108 in 2014.[11]
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