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London Buses route 293 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London and Surrey, England. Running between Morden station and Epsom Hospital, it is operated by RATP Dev Transit London.
| 293 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | RATP Dev Transit London |
| Garage | Tolworth |
| Vehicle | Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC Alexander Dennis Enviro400 |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 6 |
| Began service | 18 April 1970 |
| Predecessors | Route 93 |
| Former operator(s) | Quality Line Metrobus Go-Ahead London London Country South West London Country |
| Night-time | No night service |
| Route | |
| Start | Morden station |
| Via | Lower Morden North Cheam Stoneleigh Ewell Epsom |
| End | Epsom Hospital |
| Length | 9 miles (14 km) |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
History edit
Route 293 commenced operating on 18 April 1970 between Wimbledon and Epsom stations, replacing route 93 between North Cheam and Epsom.[1] The new route was allocated to Merton garage with operation by AEC Merlins. On 20 April 1974, it was converted to double operation with Daimler Fleetlines.
On 23 April 1983, route 293 was rerouted to serve Hackbridge instead of Wimbledon. Upon being put up for tender, the route passed to London Country on 19 July 1986, who introduced using second hand ex Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Leyland Atlanteans.[1] Upon the privatisation of LCBS, the route was transferred to London Country South West.[2]
In 1990, the route was withdrawn between Morden station and Hackbridge, and was extended to run to Merton Abbey. New Volvo Citybuses replaced the Atlanteans. The route passed from the control of London Regional Transport, and became a commercially operated route by London Country. From 1993-1995, evening and Sunday services were renumbered 593, and were operated by Epsom Buses using Mercedes-Benz minibuses.
Between 1995 and 1998, there were a number of route changes, but the route was finally standardised to run its current service in 2000, now operated by London General.
Upon being re-tendered, on 19 July 2003 route 293 passed to Quality Line. The service was slightly re-routed between Morden and North Cheam. When next tendered, the route passed to Metrobus' Croydon garage on 30 August 2008.[3]
Metrobus successfully tendered to retain the route, with a new contract commencing on 31 August 2013.[4][5]
On 1 September 2018, operation of the route was taken over by Quality Line.[6][7][8] On 19 June 2021, operation of the route was transferred from Quality Line to fellow RATP Group company London United's Tolworth garage.[9][10]
Current route edit
Route 293 operates via these primary locations:[11]
References edit
- ^ a b Last Scanis singles to go Buses issue 756 March 2018 page 20
- ^ Round three for LRT tenders Commercial Motor 2 November 1985
- ^ "Route 293 - award announced 20 December 2007". Transport for London. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ^ "Route 293 - award announced 31 January 2013". Transport for London. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- ^ Tender News Bus Talk issue 21 April 2013
- ^ Gain for Quality Line in London bus tender round Coach & Bus Week issue 1327 30 January 2018 page 7
- ^ Tender News Bus Talk issue 50 February 2018 page 16
- ^ Latest tendered service awards Buses issue 756 March 2018 page 21
- ^ Short Hops Buses issue 795 June 2021 page 24
- ^ Our Services RATP Dev Transit London
- ^ Route 293 Map Transport for London
External links edit
Media related to London Buses route 293 at Wikimedia Commons