Essex bus route H1

Essex County Council route H1 is a supported bus route in Essex on the outskirts of London, United Kingdom, serving as a useful connection between Loughton, Debden, Epping, North Weald and Harlow in south-west Essex. The service is currently operated by Imperial Buses of Rainham.

On Sundays, route H1 is partly replaced by route 541, operated by Arriva Shires & Essex for Essex County Council.

{| class="wikitable"
-
Route Number
Route
Operated by
Garage
Vehicle
Peak vehicle requirement
Level
Frequency
Journey time
Night
-
H1
Harlow "Edinburgh Way" to Loughton Station via Epping
Arriva Shires & Essex
Rainham
Dennis Dart, Volvo Olympian
3
Daily (07:30 to 18:30)
Monday to Friday (every hour), Saturday (4 journeys)
75 minutes
No night service
-

History

The H1 started in September 2001 to act as the only bus service linking Loughton and Debden to Harlow replacing the Harlow to Debden section on route 502 which previously operated from Harlow to Romford. The route originally served Princess Alexandra Hospital and Harlow Town Station in Harlow, but was quickly shortened just to serve the bus station. In May 2007, the extension was re-instated and now terminated at Edinburgh Way Tesco. On 17th November 2007, the route was extended from Edinburgh Way to Old Harlow Post Office, and a loop was introduced around Loughton and Debden so that it served Epping Forest College and Borders Lane.On 22nd March 2008, the extension between Edinburgh Way and Old Harlow was discontinued and a revised routing around Loughton and Debden was introduced so that it served Traps Hill and Newmans Lane, with the loop no longer in operation.It now faces competition from similar route 55 operated by Travel with Hunny (TWH), the route is nearly the same except from different routing around Loughton and Debden.

Vehicles

There is quite a mixture of vehicles on this route including Dennis Darts, Leyland Olympians, Leyland Titans and MCW Metrobuses. In early days of the route, Leyland Nationals were sometimes used. During the Christmas period, vintage buses such as Routemasters and RTs are often used. In December 2007, Leyland Olympians (formally from Kentish Bus and Arriva) replaced most of the older stock with new route branding, although there is still quite a mixture of vehicles still used. It is quite a coincidence that some of the Leyland Olympians used to operate on London Buses route 20 around the Loughton area, where route H1 serves today.

Current route

Route departing Loughton

* Loughton Station
* Loughton "Station Road"
* Loughton "High Road"
* Loughton "Traps Hill"
* Loughton "Borders Lane"
* Loughton "Newmans Lane"
* "Debden "Broadway""
* Debden "Estate"
* Loughton "Rectory Lane"
* Loughton "Goldings Hill"
* Loughton "Wake Arms"
* Epping New Road
* Bell Common
* Epping High Street (Tesco)
* Epping Station
* Epping High Street
* St Margarets Hospital
* Kings Head
* The Talbot
* Hastingwood
* Brays Grove
* Potter Street
* Harlow Bus Station
* Princess Alexandra Hospital
* First Avenue
* Howard Way
* Edinburgh Way "Tesco"

Route departing Harlow

* Edinburgh Way "Tesco"
* Howard Way
* First Avenue
* Princess Alexandra Hospital
* Harlow Bus Station
* Potter Street
* Brays Grove
* Hastingwood
* The Talbot
* Kings Head
* St Margarets Hospital
* Epping High Street
* Epping Station
* Epping High Street (Tesco)
* Bell Common
* Epping New Road
* Loughton "Wake Arms"
* Loughton "Goldings Hill"
* Loughton "Rectory Lane"
* Debden "Estate"
* Debden "Broadway"
* Loughton "Newmans Lane"
* Loughton "Borders Lane"
* Loughton "Traps Hill"
* Loughton "High Road"
* Loughton "Station Road"
* Loughton Station

ee also

* List of bus routes in Essex
* Imperial Buses
* Arriva Shires & Essex
* Essex bus route 55

External links

* [http://www.imperialbus.co.uk/ Imperial Bus Company]
* [http://routeh1.com/News.html Imperial route H1 infomation]
* [http://www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk Traveline South East]
* [http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/__80256E280053B5B6.nsf/vWeb/wpDOMR726JEL?Open&region=Shires%20and%20Essex&town=Loughton Arriva route 541 Information]