| 7 | |
|---|---|
_Oxford_Street_25.06.2023.jpg) | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | Metroline |
| Garage | Perivale |
| Vehicle | Wright StreetDeck HydrolinerFCEV |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 12 |
| Predecessors | Route 7A |
| Night-time | N7 |
| Route | |
| Start | East Acton |
| Via | Ladbroke Grove Paddington Edgware Road Marble Arch |
| End | Oxford Circus |
| Length | 7 miles (11 km) |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
| Frequency | About every 12 minutes |
| Journey time | 41-80 minutes |
| Operates | 05:25 until 00:56 |
London Buses route 7 is aTransport for London contracted bus route inLondon, England. Running betweenEast Acton andOxford Circus, it is operated byMetroline.
It is currently London's only bus route along with routes245 andN7 to run onhydrogen.[1]
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Route 7's history can be traced back to 1 November 1908, when an un-numbered daily route operating betweenWormwood Scrubs andLiverpool Street station, was allocated route number 7.[2] Between 1910 and 1920, route 7 was operated entirely byX-type vehicles.[3] It was the only route in London to use these vehicles regularly.[4][5]
On 14 August 1916, a supplementary Monday - Saturday route 7A was introduced between Wormwood Scrubs andLondon Bridge station. This route disappeared later in 1916 owing toWartime shortages, but reappeared on 30 April 1917. During the 1920s, route 7 was extended toActon and a 7B was introduced as aWaterloo station to London Bridge, Monday to Friday peak hours only service viaHolborn.[5]
On 1 December 1924, a new system of route numbering on London buses came into force under TheLondon Traffic Act 1924. This gave theMetropolitan Police responsibility for bus operation and route numbering. Route 7 remained unchanged; the 7A was renumbered107, and the 7B to166. Short workings from Wormwood Scrubs were renumbered 7A. This situation remained until 3 October 1934, when the newly constitutedLondon Passenger Transport Board instituted its own numbering system. Route 7 continued with an extension toKew Green until 22 August 1946, when the 7A was revived from Acton to London Bridge.[5]
Route 7 was withdrawn on 19 August 1958. From 14 October 1959, the old route 7A had its suffix removed, becoming plain 7. The service ran between Acton tram depot and London Bridge station viaEast Acton,Ladbroke Grove,Paddington station,Edgware Road,Marble Arch,Oxford Street,Holborn station andBank station.[5]
On 9 October 1963, the Saturday service of route 7 was extended from Acton to Kew Green to replace the withdrawn route 265. On 31 December 1966, the Saturday section of route 7 between Acton and Kew was replaced by route 27A. The rerouting ofRed Arrow route 501 fromAldgate to London Bridge on 24 January 1970, resulted in route 7 being cut back toBloomsbury near toTottenham Court Road.[5][6]
In 1992, the route was extended to terminate atRussell Square. The route was run with crew-operatedAEC Routemasters for many years. These were replaced on 3 July 2004 by low-floor double-deckers released fromroute 25.[6][7]
Due to the partial closure ofOxford Street forElizabeth line construction works, the route has had its eastern terminus relocated from Russell Square to Oxford Circus on 16 June 2014.[8]
Metroline was awarded the contract for route 7, taking over fromFirst London on 23 June 2007 and has successfully retained the route with a new contract starting on 21 June 2014.[9][10]
In May 2021, routes 7 and N7 became the first in London to use double deckerhydrogen fuel cell buses. The new vehicles areWright StreetDeck HydrolinerFCEVs.[11][1] The same year, the frequency of the service was reduced from 7.5 or 8 buses per hour to 5 buses per hour at peak times.[12]
A serious incident occurred on 13 June 1957, when aRTL-type bus on route 7A ran into a queue of waiting passengers onOxford Street, killing eight people. The driver had collapsed with heat exhaustion.[13][14]
On 30 July 1966,Routemaster RM1768, operating on route 7, caught fire atMarble Arch. The cause was an overheated flywheel. The driver, conductor and passengers all escaped without injury.[15]
Route 7 operates via these primary locations:[16]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Consulted 14 September 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Consulted 7 March 2021.
Media related toLondon Buses route 7 at Wikimedia Commons
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