London Buses route 360

Infobox London Bus
number=360


operator=London Central
length=6 miles (9 km)
time= 38-52 minutes
garage=Camberwell
start=Kensington
end=Elephant & Castle
via=Sloane Square
Pimlico
Vauxhall
Lambeth
level=Daily
frequency=About every 12 minutes
night=none
vehicle=VDL SB120/Wright Electrocity
Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer
pvr=10
day=5:20am until 1:15am
ibus=yes

London Buses route 360 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London Central.

History

Several new routes were introduced in readiness for the commencement of the London congestion charge in February 2003, and of those the 360 is arguably the most unusual. Operations commenced on 25 January 2003 using a batch of cascaded early model Dart SLFs, unusually treated to route branding, although some have subsequently lost it. These buses were also well ahead of their time in having had their roofs painted white when new for route 345 in 1997.

The route is something of a museum route. Starting from the Royal Albert Hall, and also next to Imperial College, it operates via South Kensington (although not along Exhibition Road, where several museums are located), and then serves some previously unserved streets to reach Sloane Square. Then the route operates via Pimlico, taking it past Chelsea Barracks and near Tate Britain, to Vauxhall, passing the MI5 building before passing through the less glamorous environs of Black Prince Road. The last museum on route is the Imperial War Museum, before buses arrive at Elephant & Castle.

However the route is more notable for the use of 6 hybrid diesel-electric buses alongside the Darts. The route was originally awarded with new vehicles rather than cascaded LDPs, and late in 2003 it was announced that the route would act as a testing ground for hybrid vehicles. The principle is that the gearbox is replaced by a large battery and electric circuits; a small diesel engine charges the battery which then drives electric motors, and during braking the motors can regenerate electricity and put it back into the battery. All this results in far lower fuel use, and consequently lower pollution, with the engine normally operating at its optimal speed when not idling. It was intended to order a full complement of such vehicles based on the new Transbus Enviro200H. However, development halted during financial problems at Transbus and its subsequent reconfiguration as Alexander Dennis, so the deal fell through.

Instead an order for 6 vehicles went to Wrightbus, and the vehicles, branded Electrocity, finally arrived and entered service a few months ago. The chassis is a VDL (DAF) SB120, but obviously the mechanical components are re-configured for the hybrid power train. The choice of WHY for the class code is a bit peculiar - it is meant to mean Wright HYbrid, but may well start people asking questions instead, such as why they are there, why they were so late etc...

Current route

Route departing Kensington

* Kensington "Prince Consort Road"
* Queens Gate
* Harrington Road
* Cromwell Place
* Thurloe Place
* Exhibition Road
* Thurloe Street
* South Kensington Station
* Pelham Street
* Sloane Avenue
* Draycott Place
* Symons Street
* Sloane Square Station
* Lower Sloane Street
* Chelsea Bridge Road
* Grosvenor Road
* Lupus Street
* Pimlico Station
* Bessborough Street
* Drummond Gate
* Vauxhall Bridge Road
* Bessborough Gardens
* Vauxhall Bridge
* Bridge Foot
* Vauxhall Station "Bus Station"
* Wandsworth Road
* Albert Embankment
* Black Prince Road
* Lambeth
* Black Prince Road
* Kennington Road
* Lambeth Road
* Imperial War Museum
* Lambeth Road
* St George's Circus
* London Road
* Elephant & Castle

Route departing Elephant & Castle

* Elephant & Castle "Newington Causeway"
* St George's Road
* Lambeth Road
* Imperial War Museum
* Lambeth Road
* Kennington Road
* Black Prince Road
* Lambeth
* Black Prince Road
* Albert Embankment
* Kennington Lane
* South Lambeth Road
* South Lambeth Place
* Vauxhall Station "Bus Station"
* Bridge Foot
* Vauxhall Bridge
* Bessborough Gardens
* Vauxhall Bridge Road
* Drummond Gate
* Bessborough Gardens
* Pimlico Station
* Lupus Street
* Grosvenor Road
* "Double run via Chelsea Bridge Road to turning point south of Royal Hospital"
* Chelsea Bridge Road
* Lower Sloane Street
* Sloane Square Station
* King's Road
* Cadogan Gardens
* Draycott Place
* Sloane Avenue
* Pelham Street
* Old Brompton Road
* Bute Street
* Harrington Road
* Queens Gate
* Kensington "Prince Consort Road"

ee also

* List of bus routes in London
* London Central

External links

* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk Transport For London]
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/buses/ London Buses homepage]
* [http://www.londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net London Bus Routes Fotopic]
* [http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/360.pdf Full timetable (PDF)]