- London Buses route 5
Infobox London Bus
number=5
operator=East London
garage=Barking, Bow and Romford
vehicle=Dennis Trident 2 /Alexander ALX400
pvr=18+ from Barking
11 from Romford
start=Romford Market
via=Becontree Heath
Barking
East Ham
Upton Park
Plaistow
end=Canning Town Bus Station
level=Daily
length=10 miles (16 km)
time=43-82 minutes
frequency=About every 8 minutes
day=5:30am until 1:00am
night=Night Bus N15London Buses route 5 is a
Transport for London contracted bus route inLondon ,United Kingdom . The service is currently contracted to East London. The route runs on theA124 road for most of its length.History
Location map+|Greater London
caption = 5 destinations
float = left
width = 300
places = Location map~|Greater London
label =Canning Town
lat= 51.5148
long= 0.0257
position=left
background = red Location map~|Greater London
label =Romford
lat= 51.5768
long= 0.1801
background = red The 5 commenced operation on11 November 1959 in stage 4 of London Transport's "buses for trolleybuses" conversion scheme. It was a direct replacement for trolleybus routes 567 and 665 and ran betweenBloomsbury (Red Lion Square) and Barking Garage viaClerkenwell ,Aldgate andCanning Town . There was also a supplementary Monday to Friday route 5A between Clerkenwell Green andWest India Dock . London's Docks were still in use at this time, making routes along the Commercial Road very busy. The combined allocation of buses to the 5 and 5A on Mondays to Fridays was 36 buses.This was the ninth incarnation of the route number 5 as a motorbus route in London. It was, along with Routes 5A, 48 and 238, also the first trolleybus replacement route, on which brand new production
Routemaster buses were used.The 1960s was a very turbulent period for London buses, and by
1966 the 5 group of routes had grown to encompass routes 5, 5A, 5B and 5C. Serving an area from Bloomsbury in the west, West India Dock, Canning Town toBecontree Heath in the east. In 1968 in connection with the opening of theVictoria Line , a large scale re-organisation of London's buses was implemented, the first stage of which occurred on7 September 1968 . The 5A, 5B and 5C all disappeared at this time, leaving only route 5 surviving, although severely reduced, now only running between Bloomsbury and East Ham. On17 April 1971 , the 5 was converted to one person operation. This event foreshadowed a decade of decline for the route, which at its nadir only needed 14 vehicles to cover the much shortened route.1981 saw a beginning of the revival of the 5. On31 January 1981, It was extended to Waterloo in replacement for the 55. From25 April of the same year, it was converted back to Routemaster crew operation, as well as being extended eastwards again to Becontree Heath. Routemaster operation only lasted for four years, and in1985 one person operated vehicles were back on the 5.From 1989, the retreat away from the western end of the route began. As a partial replacement, a Red Arrow route 505 was introduced.
However, as from
21 April 1990 , the section west ofCanning Town was later deemed redundant, except on Sunday mornings when it continued to run as far as Old Street in order to serve the famous Shoreditch Market. A partial replacement for the link to the north of the city was maintained by new Docklands route D3 (East Ham - Old Street), but only on Mondays to Saturdays except evenings. The Sunday 5 extension no longer exists now, and the D3 runs between Crossharbour and London Chest Hospital.On
25 March 2006 , the 5 was further extended eastwards to Romford Market over the withdrawn 87, itself a very long standing route.Recently there has been an appeal in a local newspaperSpecify|date=December 2007 in east London campaigning for more buses on the 5 route. Eastbound buses from
Barking station are usually too full up to accept new passengers after Barking Bus Garage between 08:00am and 08:45.Transport for London have announced that 4 more buses will be provided along this section in the AM peak.Fact|date=December 2007The Canning Town terminus of the 5 is now in the
Jubilee Line interchange. Today, the 5 is the only route with a number lower than 20 not enteringcentral London .Current route
Route departing Romford Market
*
Romford Market
*Romford "St Edward's Way"
* Mercury Gardens
* Western Road
* Chandlers Way
* Eastern Road
* Romford Station
* South Street
* Rom Valley Way
* Rush Green Road
* Wood Lane
*Becontree Heath "Bus Station"
*Becontree Heath "Broadway"
*Wood Lane
* Broadway
* Wood Lane
* Longbridge Road
* Station Parade
* Barking Station
*Cambridge Road
* Linton Road
*London Road
* Barking Road
* East Ham
* Barking Road
* Plaistow
* Barking Road
*Canning Town station Route departing Canning Town
*
Canning Town station
* Barking Road
* Plaistow
* Barking Road
* East Ham
* Barking Road
*London Road
* Linton Road
*Cambridge Road
* Station Parade
* Barking Station "Forecourt"
* Longbridge Road
* Wood Lane
* Broadway
* Wood Lane
*Becontree Heath "Bus Station"
* Wood Lane
* Rush Green Road
* Rom Valley Way
* South Street
* Romford Station
* Eastern Road
* Chandlers Way
* Western Road
* Mercury Gardens
*Romford "St Edward's Way"
*Romford Market Previous route 5s in London
The route number 5 had been used eight times prior to its current use.
*In1906 -1908 for aHampstead Heath Victoria route.
*In1909 for a Hampstead HeathCamberwell Green route.
*In1910 -1914 for a Wimbledon*,Putney *Stroud Green route. * Termini varied.
*In1914 -1915 for aCamden Town Putney route.
*In1915 -1917 for a Wimbledon CommonHackney Wick route.
*In1919 for aClapham Junction South Hackney route.
*In1921 -1942 for aRaynes Park *,Mitcham *,Clapham Common *Forest Gate *,Wanstead * route. * Termini varied.*In
1953 -1954 for aShepherds Bush Ladbroke Grove route.There were also in London:
*Between1913 -1938 a Hampstead HeathMoorgate Tram route 5.
*During theGeneral Strike in May1926 . A circular Route 5 operatedWest Hendon -St John's Wood - Victoria - Kilburn - West Hendon.
*Between1934 -1936 a Crystal PalaceAnerley Tram route 5.
*Between1946 -1952 aDownham Victoria Embankment Night Tram route 5.
*Between1932 -1935 aMalden Teddington Trolleybus route 5.Of note, is the fact that in the period 1934/5, there were four Route 5's operating at the same time in London, albeit by different modes of transport.
ee also
*
List of bus routes in London
* East LondonExternal links
* [http://www.busesatwork.co.uk London Bus Routes]
* [http://www.londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net London Bus Routes Fotopic]
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk Transport for London]
* [http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/005full.pdf Full Timetable (PDF)]
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