London Buses route 484

Infobox London Bus
number=484


operator=London Central
length= 8 miles (11 km)
time= 26-56 minutes
garage=Camberwell
start=Lewisham
end=Camberwell
via=Ladywell
Hilly Fields
Brockley
Peckham Rye
East Dulwich
level=Daily
frequency=About every 10 minutes
night=No night service
vehicle=Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 2
pvr=12
day=5:00am until 1:30am
ibus=yes

London Buses route 484 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London Central.

History

Inner South East London is covered in lots of abrupt little hills, and the very circuitous 484 takes in quite a few of these. From Lewisham, buses pass through Ladywell, and then climb Vicars Hill to Hilly Fields before dropping back down to the Brockley Cross, a somewhat hectic junction consisting of two mini roundabouts. Then buses climb Telegraph Hill before wending their way through the estates of Brockley, and a further rise is encountered on Peckham Rye. Buses then cross over past Goose Green to East Dulwich, before climbing Dog Kennel Hill and descending to Camberwell Green. Despite the whole route fitting onto two pages in an A-Z, buses take almost an hour to complete this journey at busy times.

A plan to move existing LDPs from the 345 did not come to fruition, perhaps because of their extra length, as there are some fairly tight turns in the Hilly Fields area. Instead new short Darts were purchased for the 484, being added to a substantial order of similar buses for routes P5, P13 and C10.

The 484 was formed in 1994 by replacing three routes. The L1 had run from Lewisham via Hilly Fields to Brockley, while the P2 ran from Lewisham via Lewisham Way and Malpas Road (no longer served) to Brockley and East Dulwich (thence to Peckham). Both these operated with Mercedes minibuses every 20 minutes, and the 10-minute frequency 484 effectively amalgamated them. However, the 484 number, and the Camberwell connection, derive from the third route, the 184 which ran from Brockley via East Dulwich and Camberwell to Elephant & Castle. Indeed, the P2 had only been created a few years earlier by replacing the eastern end of the 184!

Initially 10 buses were used, and an order for 11 (to include a spare) unusual East Lancs EL2000-bodied Dennis Darts (DEL) was therefore placed. However, the timetable quickly proved over-optimistic, especially following closure of the Endwell Road railway bridge to large vehicles. The 484 was diverted via Vesta Road, which was how it came to serve Telegraph Hill which was not served by either L1 or P2. Although this was a significant extension of the route, when the Endwell Road bridge had been repaired and reopened (and indeed the Vesta Road bridge was then closed) buses continued to serve Telegraph Hill. To overcome the reliability problems an extra bus was added to the schedule, but even then the timetable could be too tight, and accordingly the new contract specifies 12 buses.

Current route

Route departing Lewisham

* Lewisham station "Junction Approach"
* Loampit Vale
* Lewisham High Street
* Lee Bridge
* Lewis Grove
* Lewisham High Street
* Ladywell Road
* Ladywell Station
* Ladywell Road
* Vicars Hill
* Shell Road
* Brookbank Road
* Cliffview Road
* Hilly Fields Crescent
* Tressillian Road
* Harefield Road
* Brockley Road (for Brockley Station)
* Brockley Cross
* Endwell Road
* Drakefell Road
* Sprules Road
* Vesta Road
* Pepys Road
* Avignon Road
* St Norbert Road
* Merttins Road
* Ivydale Road
* Cheltenham Road
* Peckham Rye
* East Dulwich Road
* Grove Vale
* East Dulwich Station
* Dog Kennel Hill
* Grove Lane
* Champion Park
* Denmark Hill Station
* Champion Park
* Denmark Hill
* Camberwell Green

Route departing Camberwell

* Camberwell Green
* Denmark Hill
* Champion Park
* Denmark Hill Station
* Champion Park
* Grove Lane
* Dog Kennel Hill
* East Dulwich Station
* Grove Vale
* East Dulwich Road
* Peckham Rye
* Cheltenham Road
* Ivydale Road
* Merttins Road
* St Norbert Road
* Avignon Road
* Pepys Road
* Vesta Road
* Endwell Road
* Brockley Cross
* Brockley Road (for Brockley Station
* Harefield Road
* Tressillian Road
* Hilly Fields Crescent
* Cliffview Road
* Brookbank Road
* Shell Road
* Vicars Hill
* Ladywell Road
* Ladywell Station
* Ladywell Road
* Lewisham High Street
* Lewis Grove
* Lee Bridge
* Lewisham High Street
* Station Road
* Lewisham Station "Bus Station"

ee also

* List of bus routes in London
* London Central

External links

* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk Transport For London]
* [http://www.londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net London Bus Routes Fotopic]
* [http://www.busesatwork.co.uk London Bus Routes]
* [http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/484.pdf Full Timetable]