London Buses route 371
London Buses route 371 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Kingston and Richmond, Manor Circus, it is operated by London United.
| 371 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | London United |
| Garage | Fulwell (FW) |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 13 |
| Predecessors | London Buses route 71 |
| Route | |
| Start | Kingston |
| Via | Norbiton North Kingston Ham Petersham Richmond Hill |
| End | Richmond, Manor Circus |
History[edit]
The bus route 371 was created in 1990 when the bus route 71 was split into two shorter routes. It was originally operated by Westlink from their Kingston garage. It transferred to London United in 1995 when they bought Westlink.
When the new Tolworth garage opened in 2002, the bus route 371 was transferred to there. In 2009 it was then transferred to the Fulwell garage.
London United managed to retain bus route 371 in both 2009:[1] and 2016.[2] This was, not because they were the lowest bidder, but because they had provided a good service prior to the re-tendering[1] or because it was part of a joint bid.[2] The next re-tendering process for route 371 will take place with the newly tendered service commencing on the 3rd of July 2021.[3][4]
Route changes[edit]
In November 2001, the bus route 371 was re-routed via Kings Road, Marchmont Road and Queens Road instead of its previous route via Friar Stiles Road and Richmond Hill. [5] 10 new bus stops were introduced.
In April 2011, the bus route 371 was extended from Richmond, Dee Road to the nearby Sainsbury's store on Manor Road.
During the summer of 2016, the bus route 371 was temporarily suspended. This was due to mains works taking place in Petersham. It was replaced by free shuttle bus services. These were given numbers 565, 571 and 572.[6]
Incidents[edit]
On the morning of the 2nd of December 2016, a Dennis Trident 2 operating on route 371 caught fire on Kingston High Street near the Guildhall/Rose Theatre bus stop. The emergency services arrived promptly and there were no casualties.[7] For the whole day, Kingston High Street was blocked off due to the fire. Many bus routes, including the 371 route, had to take a diverted route or curtail early.
School journeys[edit]
The bus route 371 serves these 30 schools:
- Darell Primary and Nursery School
- Windham Nursery School
- RHACC
- The Vineyard Day Nursery
- King's House School
- Christ's School
- St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary School
- Marshgate School
Scania OmniDekka on route 371, operated by London United. Picture taken opposite Fairfield Bus Garage. - The Vineyard School
- American University
- German School London
- The Russell Primary School
- Strathmore School at the Russell Campus
- Grey Court School
- The Woodville Centre
- St Richard's C of E Primary School
- Meadlands Primary School
- Malden Oaks PRU
- Tiny Thinkers Childcare
- Banana Moon Day Nursery
- Oranges and Lemons Nursery School
- St Agatha's Catholic Primary School
- Latchmere School
- Kingston Community School
- One Nine Seven Early Years
- Alexandra School
- St Pauls C of E Primary School
- Tiffin School (boys)
- Kingston Grammar School
- Kingston College
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None of the above schools have their own public school bus, so London Buses have put measures in place during school peak hours on route 371 to enable the full demand to be catered for. Often, double-deck Scania OmniCities are used to increase capacity. Many buses also only travel from Richmond, Manor Circus to Grey Court School to increase the frequency. There is also two separate timetables in use during weekdays. One is used during school term time, and the other is used during school holidays.[8]
Previous slogans[edit]
Before TfL introduced a compulsory all-red livery for all of their fleet, Westlink had comedic or catchy slogans on the sides of their buses on route 371. Three of the most used slogans are shown here:
Enjoy a visit to Ham House? National Trust us to get you there.
The best way to Terrace Gardens? You know our point of view.
Eden Street to Paradise Road[9]
Current route[edit]
Route 371 operates via these primary locations[10]
- Richmond Manor Circus
- Richmond station
- Richmond Bus Station
- Richmond Hill
- Petersham
- Ham
- North Kingston Tudor Drive
- Norbiton London Road
- Kingston
- Kingston Kingston Hall Road
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Bus tender results - Transport for London". tfl.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Bus tender results - Transport for London". tfl.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
- ↑ "2021-2022 Tendering Programme" (PDF). Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Tendering Programme Update" (PDF). Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "London Bus Route 371". www.londonbuses.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ↑ "Where to catch your bus when Petersham Road is closed" (PDF). Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Bus fire brings Kingston High Street to a standstill". ITV News. 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
- ↑ "Route 371". London Bus Routes (timetable). Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ↑ "London Bus Route 371". www.londonbuses.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ↑ Matters, Transport for London | Every Journey. "371 bus route". Transport for London. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
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