London Buses route 81

London Buses route 81 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London and Berkshire, England. Running between Hounslow bus station and Slough, it is operated by Metroline.

81
Metroline Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TL at the Treaty Centre in September 2022
Overview
OperatorMetroline
GarageLampton
VehicleVolvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2
Peak vehicle requirement16
Former operator(s)London United
Westlink
London Buslines
London Regional Transport
Night-timeNight Bus N9
Route
StartHounslow bus station
ViaHounslow West
Cranford
Harlington Corner
Heathrow North
Colnbrook
Langley
EndSlough

History

The route goes back to the 1900s. Its original course was from Hounslow to Windsor Castle. By the 1940s, the route only operated on a daily basis from Hounslow to Slough, serving Eton and Windsor only at weekends. The section from Slough to Windsor Castle was withdrawn in 1963.[1]

The 1980s saw the introduction by London Regional Transport of route tenders, with route 81 the first route to be put out to tender. The contract for the route was awarded to Len Wright Travel, which later became London Buslines effective from 13 July 1985.[2][3][4]

Tendering saw the route move from Hounslow garage to Lampton (later Isleworth, then Southall) and revert to double deck, using yellow Daimler Fleetlines. These were replaced in 1987 by Leyland Lynxes.[5][6][7] When retendered, the route was awarded to Westlink with it being operated out of Hounslow Heath garage frim 29 July 1995 with Optare Deltas.[8] Westlink became part of London United in September 1995.[9] It remained with London United until Metroline took over on 27 July 2019 operating it out of its Lampton garage.[10][11][12]

Current route

Route 81 operates via these primary locations:[13]

References
  1. Marshall, Prince (1973). Wheels of London. The Westerham Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-7230-0068-9.
  2. Putting the face to a franchise LRT News issue 300 4 October 1985 page 5
  3. McLachlan, Tom (1995). London Buses 1985–1995: Managing The Change. Venture Publications. p. 27. ISBN 1-898432-74-0.
  4. Wolmar, Christian (14 September 1992). "Hold tight on the Clapham omnibus: Next stop, privatisation". The Independent.
  5. McLachlan p.84
  6. Capital debut for Lynx LRT News issue 342 3 July 1987 page 3
  7. Lynx boost for LeylandCommercial Motor 9 July 1987
  8. McLachlan p.109
  9. Development of Organised Transportation in London Transport for London January 2013
  10. Six routes transfer in latest TfL tender results Coach & Bus Week issue 1375 8 January 2019 page 7
  11. Tender News Bus Talk issue 56 February 2019 page 20
  12. Two more new garages open but will others close? Buses issue 773 August 2019 page 24
  13. Route 81 Map Transport for London
  14. "Temporary withdrawal of route 81 between Slough Bus Station and Slough Tesco". TfL. Retrieved 30 September 2023.

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