| 65 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | London United (First Bus London)[1] |
| Garage | Fulwell[1] |
| Night-time | N65 |
| Route | |
| Start | Ealing Broadway station |
| Via | Brentford Kew Richmond Petersham Ham |
| End | Kingston upon Thames |
London Buses route 65 is aTransport for London contracted bus route inLondon, England. Running betweenEaling Broadway station andKingston upon Thames, it is operated byFirst Bus London subsidiaryLondon United.
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Route 65 originally ran fromEalingArgyle Road (now Scotch Common) toLeatherhead viaEaling Broadway,South Ealing,Brentford,Richmond,Petersham,Ham,Kingston,Tolworth,Hook andChessington. In the summer months, the route was extended from Kingston to Chessington Zoo. It was initially operated from Kingston (K) andTurnham Green (V) garages, using STL-class AEC Regents and, afterWorld War II,AEC Regent III RTs,Leyland Titans, andRoutemasters. In 1946, "pay-as-you-enter" experiments were carried out on route 65, running between Ealing Broadway and Leatherhead.[2][3]
In the 1960s, the southernmost section betweenChessington Zoo and Leatherhead was withdrawn and replaced byroute 71. In 1975, the elderly AEC Regent III RT were replaced byAEC Routemasters, and the route extended from Chessington Zoo to ChessingtonFox & Hounds during Monday to Friday peak hours.[4]
In February 1979, the route was temporarily split in two inPetersham, due to a large sinkhole nicknamed the 'Petersham Hole'. Regular through service did not resume until September 1980.[5]
In 1984, the northern section to Argyle Road was cut back toEaling Broadway. In 1985, the 65 was converted to one-person operation usingMCW Metrobuses, all based at Norbiton.[4] In 1987, the route was reduced further, with the southern portion of the route to Chessington cut back to Kingston. By this time,route tendering had been established in London, and 65 passed to Kingston Bus, a low-cost unit established byLondon Buses.[4]
Upon being re-tendered, the route was awarded toArmchair Passenger Transport. However a delay in the delivery of new buses resulted inLondon & Country operating it for a few months from 29 September 1990, mainly usingLeyland Atlanteans from distantCroydon and Leatherhead garages.[4]
Armchair finally took over in January 1991, using a batch of seventeenLeyland Olympians plus three second-hand Atlanteans.[6] It retained the route upon it being re-tendered in 1996, and subsequently replaced the ageing Atlanteans with newNorthern Counties Palatine II bodiedVolvo Olympians. A variety of other buses worked the route during Armchair's tenure, includingAlexander bodied Leyland Olympians after Armchair lostroute 260, twoMCW Metrobuses new toEast Kent Road Car Company.[7]
Upon being re-tendered, the route passed toLondon United on 29 June 2002 with newAlexander ALX400 bodiedDennis Trident 2s fromFulwell garage.[8]
Upon being re-tendered, it was retained by London United with a new contract commencing on 4 July 2009, that saw the section between Kingston and Chessington reinstated for night-time services only.[9] London United retained the route when next tendered with the new contract to commence on 2 July 2016.[10]
In 2022, the bus fleet was electrified, with the introduction ofBYD Alexander Dennis Enviro400EVbattery electric buses.[11]
On 28 February 2025, the route passed fromLondon United toFirst Bus London following the acquisition ofRATP Dev Transit London byFirstGroup.[12]
Route 65 operates via these primary locations:[13]
Media related toLondon Buses route 65 at Wikimedia Commons
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