London Buses route 196

infobox London Bus
number=196


operator=London General
length=9 miles (14 km)
time=44-66 minutes
vehicle=Alexander Dennis Enviro400
garage=Stockwell Garage
start=Norwood Junction
end=Elephant and Castle
via=Upper Norwood
West Norwood
Brixton
Vauxhall
level=Daily
frequency=About every 12 minutes
night=No night service
pvr=13
day=5:30 until midnight
ibus=yes

London Buses route 196 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London General.

The route is one of the longer routes in South London, connecting the borough of Croydon to Central London, quite similar to the 468 with which it runs parallel for most of its journey (The 468 runs from South Croydon to Elephant and Castle). Since 2006, when London General won the contract back, it has been serviced by brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro400 and on the odd occasion Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini have been used, although some people thought that London General could have used this model on a more central route as the front window makes it perfect for sightseeing. The closest the 196 gets to the city/north of the river is on a short section next to Vauxhall Bridge. The route runs on main roads and usually in most parts uses the shortest and quickest way there, apart from a slight quirk at Stockwell where it goes straight outside the bus garage (owned by London General and the home of the 196). The garage is on a residential road, and getting a new double decker bus to go down there without wanting it to get scratched is quite a task!

History

The 196 used to run from Tufnell Park "Hotel" to Waterloo; in 1950, this service (like most at that time) was only on weekdays (Monday to Friday) and ran via places and London landmarks such as Kings Cross, Euston, Kingsway and Aldwych. The service replaced the 239 entirely and the northern section of the 68A between Kings Cross and Waterloo. The garage at the time was Chalk Farm (near Camden Town) which later closed in 1993. The route was then extended to Norwood Junction in 1951 on a daily basis (by that time the route also had been running on Saturdays). An additional Sunday service was added, running on the new section Waterloo - Norwood Junction. This had completely replaced the 68A. In 1958, the Sunday service ceased due to the partly extended 40 from Camberwell Green to Norwood Junction on that day. 1971 saw the Tufnell Park to Euston section replaced by the 239. On the 5 January 1974, the 196 saw a massive cutback to Brixton. In 1987 Cityrama was awarded the contract for the 196, although this did not last long, as it was awarded to London & Country just two years later.

However, they did not do a very good job, so London General were next to play the game in 1990. The contract was reassigned to London Central in 1997, who favoured the use of Leyland Titans. Yet another change happened in 1999 when it went back to none other than London General. But only two years passed when in 2001 the contract passed over to Connex using Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400 (who had a terrible reputation in the UK at the time with their disastrous work on the railways; in fact, Connex run their trains through Norwood Junction Station at the southern terminus). Then Travel London bought out Connex. They only kept the contract for a short period due to complaints of the old age of the buses (despite only being 4-5 years old), even though they were passed on from Connex. So the contract was transferred again in 2006 to London General for the third time using Enviro400s.

Current route

Route departing Norwood Junction

*Norwood Junction "Grosvenor Road"
*South Norwood High street
*South Norwood Hill "Harris College"
*South Norwood Hill "Cypress Junior School"
*Upper Norwood "All Saints' Church"
*Beulah Hill "Spa Hill"
*Beulah Hill "Biggin Hill"
*Norwood "Crown Point"
*Knights Hill "Crown Hill"
*Knights Hill "Norwood Garage"
*West Norwood Station
*West Norwood "Library"
*Norwood Road
*Tulse Hill Station
*Tulse Hill "Town Centre"
*Norwood Road
*Brockwell Park
*Herne Hill "Dulwich Road"
*Herne Hill Station
*Railton Road
*Alantic Road
*Ritzy Cinema
*Brixton "Town Centre"
*Brixton Underground Station
*Brixton National Rail Station
*Brixton Academy
*Stockwell Road
*Stockwell Station
*Binfield Road
*Stockwell Garage
*Lansdowne Way
*Wandsworth Road "Lambeth College (Vauxhall Centre) and London South Bank University"
*Wandsworth Road "Sainsbury's"
*Vauxhall Station "Bus station"
*Kennington Lane "Kennington Road"
*Newington Butts
*Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre
*Elephant & Castle Station

Route departing Elephant and Castle

*Elephant & Castle Station
*Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre
*Newington Butts
*Kennington Lane "Kennington Road"
*Durham Street
*Vauxhall Station "Bus station"
*Wandsworth Road "Sainsbury's"
*Wandsworth Road "Lambeth College (Vauxhall Centre) and London South Bank University"
*Stockwell Garage
*Binfield Road
*Stockwell Station
*Stockwell Road
*Stockwell Park Road
*Brixton Academy
*Brixton National Rail Station
*Brixton Underground Station
*Brixton Road
*Ritzy Cinema
*Coldharbour Road
*Atlantic Road
*Railton Road
*Herne Hill Station
*Herne Hill "Dulwich Road"
*Brockwell Park
*Norwood Road
*Tulse Hill "Town Centre"
*Tulse Hill Station
*Norwood Road
*West Norwood "Library"
*West Norwood Station
*Brnest Avenue "Norwood Garage"
*Knight's Hill "Cheviot Road"
*Knight's Hill "Crown Lane"
*Norwood "Crown Point"
*Beulah Hill "Biggin Hill"
*Beulah Hill "Spa Hill"
*Upper Norwood "All Saints' Church"
*South Norwood Hill "Cypress Junior School"
*South Norwood Hill "Harris College"
*South Norwood High street
*"'Norwood Junction|Norwood Junction Station "Grosvenor Road"

ee also

*List of bus routes in London
*London General

External links

* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk Transport for London]
* [http://www.busesatwork.co.uk London Bus Routes]
* [http://www.londonbusroutes.net/times/196full.pdf Full Timetable (PDF)]