London Buses route 468

Infobox London Bus
number=468


operator=London Central
length= 12 miles (19 km)
time=46-75 minutes
garage=Camberwell
start=Elephant & Castle
end=South Croydon
via=Camberwell
Herne Hill
Norwood
Thornton Heath
level=Daily
frequency=About every 6-8 minutes
night=Night Bus N68
vehicle=Volvo B7TL / Wright Eclipse Gemini
pvr=25
day=5:00am until midnight
ibus=yes

London Buses route 468 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London Central.

History

Location map+|Greater London
caption = 468 destinations
float = left
width = 300
places = Location map~|Greater London
label = Elephant and Castle
lat= 51.499
long= -0.090
position=left
background = red Location map~|Greater London
label = South Croydon
lat= 51.3532
long= -0.0962
background = red The 468 is one of London's longer routes, operating between Elephant & Castle and South Croydon. The number reflects the fact that it parallels route 68 for a substantial part of its length, and it was once the southern section of that route. When the 68 was split on 12 March 1994, the number chosen for the southern section was 68A, but London Transport's systematic elimination of suffix letters saw this altered to 468 when a new contract started in 27 April 1999. Several routes in the Croydon area are numbered in the 4XX series, a legacy from the Country Bus numbering policy, and this therefore fits in neatly enough.

As an aside, the 468 number had previously been used for a route in the Chessington area, which was quietly renumbered to 568 as a Surrey County Council route. Later, the 568 was withdrawn, but the 468 number being unavailable, the replacement has had to be numbered 467.

Following a completely uneventful 7 year contract that did not even see any timetable changes, the 468 was put out to tender, along with routes 68, N68 and X68. It came as quite a shock to Arriva to lose the whole lot to London Central, representing over 50 buses worth of work. London Central has surprisingly been able to accommodate all the routes at its Camberwell garage with minimal effect on other routes, and a large batch of new Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs was obtained. Until recently all the WVL class buses were London General based, but a few moved into Camberwell at the start of 2006 to give drivers there plenty of time for type training prior to their mass introduction on the 68 group.

Current Route

Route departing Elephant & Castle

* "'Elephant & Castle Station "London Road"
* Elephant and Castle
* Walworth Road
* Camberwell Road
* Camberwell Green
* Denmark Hill
* Herne Hill Station
* Norwood Road "Tulse Hill"
* Tulse Hill Station
* Norwood Road
* Norwood "High Street"
* West Norwood Station
* Norwood "High Street"
* Norwood Garage
* Ernest Avenue
* Knight's Hill
* Beulah Hill
* South Norwood Hill
* Upper Norwood
* South Norwood "Hill"
* Whitehorse Lane
* Thornton Heath
* Whitehorse Road
* St James's Road
* Newgate
* Wellesley Road "for West Croydon Bus Station and Tramlink "
* "'Wellesley Road "Tramlink"
* Wellesley Road
* Park Street
* Croydon "High Street"
* South End
* Brighton Road
* South Croydon "Swan & Sugar Loaf"

Route departing South Croydon

* South Croydon "Swan & Sugar Loaf"
* Brighton Road
* South End
* Croydon "High Street"
* Katharine Street
* St George's Walk
* Park Street
* Park Lane
* Wellesley Road
* "'Wellesley Road "Tramlink"
* Wellesley Road "for West Croydon Bus Station and Tramlink "
* St James's Road
* Hogarth Crescent
* Whitehorse Road
* Thornton Heath
* Whitehorse Lane
* South Norwood "Hill"
* South Norwood Hill
* Upper Norwood
* Beulah Hill
* Crown Point
* Knight's Hill
* West Norwood Station
* Knight's Hill
* Norwood Road
* Tulse Hill Station
* Norwood Road
* Herne Hill Station
* Denmark Hill
* Camberwell Green
* Camberwell Road
* Walworth Road
* Elephant & Castle
* "'Elephant & Castle Station "London Road"

7th September 2008 crash

A route 468 bus traveling from South Croydon to Elephant and Castle was involved in a collision with a tram in central Croydon, killing one man and injuring six. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7602748.stm]

References

[1] Man killed in bus and tram crash, BBC news.

See also

* List of bus routes in London
* London Central
* London Buses route 68
* London Buses route N68
* London Buses route X68

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/468.pdf Full Timetable]