Essex bus route 55

Essex bus route 55 is a bus route in south-west Essex on the outskirts of north-east London, United Kingdom operated by Travel with Hunny (TWH) based in Rainham. The route is in competition with Imperial Buses' H1. Both routes are basically the same except from a slight variation around the Loughton and Debden area. Route 55 operates on weekdays only, and passengers must rely on the H1 on saturdays or the 541 on saturdays and sundays to get to Harlow from the Loughton and Debden area. There are also variations to the route, the L55 and the N55. The L55 continues from Loughton and Debden to Lakeside shopping centre with one return journey on Saturdays. The N55 follows the same route as the 55 but operates at night until 03.50.

{| class="wikitable"
-
Route Number
Route
Operated by
Garage
Vehicle
Peak vehicle requirement
Level
Frequency
Journey time
Night
-
55
Harlow "Bus Station" to Loughton and Debden via Epping
Travel With Hunny (TWH)
Rainham
Alexander Strider, Volvo Olympian
2/3
Daily (07:50 to 19:05)
Monday to Friday (every hour)
45-50 minutes
Night service N55 on Friday and Saturday nights (from 10th October)
-

History

Route 55 started on the 8th September 2008, with the N55 starting on the 10th October 2008 and the L55 starting on the 11th October 2008 following various advertisements in newspapers offering free travel vouchers.

Vehicles

List of vehicles used:

*Alexander Strider/Scania L113CRL (ex-Stagecoach Yorkshire)
*Alexander Strider/East Lancs B53F (ex-Stagecoach Yorkshire)
*Volvo Olympian (ex-Kentish Bus)

Route Infomation

* Arriva Faresaver tickets for students accepted on route 55.
* The N55 operates from 8pm to 3.30 am on Friday and Saturday nights only.
* Special separate fares apply to the N55, and no TWH passes or other passes are accepted.
* The L55 only operates one return journey on Saturdays.
* Oyster cards, Travelcards and other TfL tickets are not accepted on all routes (but can be accepted between Loughton and Debden with a £1 supplement).

Current route

Starting from Harlow, the route passes Hastingwood, North Weald and Epping, After Epping it operates a circular route around Loughton and Debden before returning.

Route departing Loughton

"From Harlow"
* Loughton "Homebase"
* Loughton "High Road"
* Loughton "Old Station Road"
* Loughton Station
* Loughton "Alderton Hill"
* Loughton "Borders 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

Route departing Harlow

* 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 "High Road"
* Loughton "Station Road"
* Loughton Station
* Loughton "Alderton Hill"
* Loughton "Borders Lane"
* Debden "Broadway"
* Debden "Estate"
* Loughton "Rectory Lane"

"To Harlow"

The N55 follows the exact same route as the 55 but on Friday and Saturday nights, and the L55 follows the 55 from Harlow to Debden Broadway before continuing on to Lakeside shopping centre.

ee also

* List of bus routes in Essex
* Essex bus route H1

External links

* [http://www.harlow55.com/ Route 55]
* [http://travelwithhunny.com/ Travel With Hunny]
* [http://www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk Traveline South East]