London Buses route 156

infobox London Bus
number=156


operator=Travel London
length=7 miles (12 km)
time=35-62 minutes
vehicle=Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400
pvr=Monday to Friday: 13
Saturday: 12
Sunday: 10
garage=Battersea
start=Wimbledon
end= Vauxhall
via=Wandsworth
Clapham Junction
level=Daily
frequency=About every 10 minutes
night=Night Bus N87
day=5:30am until 1:00am

London Buses route 156 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Travel London.

History

The 156 began on the 23rd April 1983, the route served between Morden Station and Clapham Junction (Grant Road), the route was introduced as a replacement for sections of the 77A and M1 which were withdrawn at the same time. The 156 was operated at Merton Garage (AL) and it was operated by DMS. The PVR was Monday to Saturday 12DMS and Sunday 6DMS. In October 1984 after 7:45pm the 156 terminated at Northcote instead of Grant Road, the PVR also changed in this year Monday to Friday 9DMS, Saturday 11DMS and Sunday stayed the same at 6DMS.

By August 1985, the 156 was extended from Clapham Junction to Vauxhall (Monday- Friday Peaks only). The Monday to Friday PVR was increased to 18DMS, Saturday and Sunday was unchanged. 2 years later in July 1987, the Monday to Saturday service between Raynes Park to Morden was withdrawn and replaced by a new route (163). The route was Monday to Saturday Rayners Park to Clapham Junction. Monday to Friday Peaks Raynes Park to Vauxhall Station. Sunday journeys ran between Morden to Clapham Junction. Monday to Saturday allocation was transferred to Stockwell Garage (SW). The PVR changed again, Monday to Friday 16DMS, other days were not changed.

Two years on, the AL Sunday service was transferred to SW so the 156 was operated daily from Stockwell Garage, the Peak Vehicle Requirement for Monday to Friday was decreased by 1 bus to make it 15DMS. By March 1991 the Sunday operation at AL was transferred back, but the Monday to Friday service was still at SW, they also started to introduce Metrobuses on the 156. The PVR was currently Monday to Friday 11DMS/M, Saturday 10DMS/M and Sunday 6DMS/M. 2 months later in May the allocation was back at AL full time, and was operated by DR's. It was withdrawn between Clapham Junction and Vauxhall, also between Wimbledon and Morden. So the 156 only operated from Clapham Junction to Wimbledon. The PVR was now Monday to Saturday 9DR and Sunday 7DR.

In 1994 AL allocated a Metrobus to the 156 for school journeys, also MRLs started appearing on the 156 with the DRs still operating. By 1996 the Metrobus was still going on the 156 but the DR buses were withdrawn so it was only operated by MRLs.

When late 1997 came the contract was reassigned to Limebourne, it was being operated by Battersea Garage QB and the double decker school journey was being operated by Nostalgia Bus. The PVR was now Monday to Saturday 8SD, and Sunday 5SD, also 1 double decker Monday to Friday. In April 1999 the school journey double decker was transferred to Limebourne. Later on in 2001 Limebourne were taken over by Connex this was still operated at QB and a lot of the buses from Limebourne were now with Connex. The PVR was now 8DCL Monday to Saturday, Sunday 6DCL. A year later Connex converted the 156 to double deck which was being operated by Trident/Alexander's (TA's). The PVR was now increased 13TA Monday to Friday, Saturday 12TA and Sunday 10TA, from the end of 2002 the route was extended from Clapham Junction to Vauxhall.

During 2004 Travel London took over Connex and they used the same garage and buses (TA's). The PVR is currently 13TA Monday to Friday, 12TA Saturday and 8TA Sunday's. The average journey time is between 35 and 65 minutes. The frequency for Monday to Saturday is every 10 minutes, Sunday and evenings are between every 15-20 minutes.

Current route

=Route departing Wimbledon=

* Southfields
* Wandsworth
* Clapham Junction
* Battersea Park
* Vauxhall

Route departing Vauxhall

* Battersea Park
* Clapham Junction
* Wandsworth
* Southfields
* Wimbledon

Previous route 156s in London

The route number 156 had been used six times prior to its current use:

* Between 28 March 1914 and 25 October 1914 there was a Saturday and Sunday service from Liverpool Street Station to Hampton Court via Kew and Teddington
* Between 2 April 1915 and 2 August 1915 there was a Sunday service from Somerset House to Hampton Court via Piccadilly and Kensington
* Between 1 December 1924 and 10 April 1925 there was a service approved by the authorities that never actually operated from Finsbury Park Station to Epping Town via Clapton, Lea Bridge Road, Whipps Cross and Woodford Green
* Between 21 July 1926 and 10 October 1961 there was a circular service from Morden station via Sutton
* Between 14 August 1963 and 27 January 1965 there was a service from Parliament Hill Fields to Wandsworth "Town Hall" via Tottenham Court Road, Trafalgar Square, and Clapham Junction
* Between 16 January 1971 and 4 September 1982 there was a service from Becontree to Creekmouth via Barking.

ee also

*List of bus routes in London
*Travel London

External links

* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk Transport for London]
* [http://www.busesatwork.co.uk London Bus Routes]
* [http://www.londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net London Bus Routes Fotopic]
* [http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/156.pdf Full Timetable]