London Buses route 466

London Buses route 466 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London and Surrey, England. Running between Addington Village Interchange and Caterham on the Hill, it is operated by Arriva London.

466
Overview
OperatorArriva London
GarageCroydon
PredecessorsRoute 166
Route 400
Former operator(s)Metrobus
Route
StartAddington Village Interchange
ViaShirley
Croydon
Purley
Old Coulsdon
EndCaterham on the Hill
Service
LevelDaily

History edit

 
Arriva London MCW Metrobus at Addington Village Interchange in May 2000

Route 466 commenced on 29 August 1998 between Shirley and Caterham on the Hill replacing route 166 between Shirley and Croydon and route 400 between Croydon and Caterham. It was operated by Croydon garage with Leyland Olympians and MCW Metrobuses.[1]

On 20 May 2000 the route was extended to Addington Village Interchange coinciding with the opening of the Tramlink. Upon being re-tendered, on 30 August 2003 it passed to Metrobus' Godstone garage with East Lancs bodied Scania OmniDekka's, moving to Croydon in early 2006.[1][2]

On next being tendered it returned to Arriva London's Croydon garage on 30 August 2008 with new Alexander Dennis Enviro400s were introduced.[3] Arriva have retained it in subsequent tenders commencing in August 2013 and August 2020.[4][5][6]

Electrical problems on the vehicles led to reliability issues.[7] In October 2008 the route was criticised for seeing too many southbound journeys turn short at Old Coulsdon.[8] Residents began a petition to improve reliability on the route, receiving around 700 signatures by December 2008.[9] On 17 January 2009, Arriva introduced extra vehicles to the 466 to allow longer layovers and reduce the need to turn journeys short.[10]

Current route edit

Route 466 operates via these primary locations:[11]

References edit

  1. ^ a b The London Bus. Vol. 5. Key Publishing. 2018. p. 27.
  2. ^ Company History Metrobus
  3. ^ Bus tender results Route 466 Transport for London 20 December 2007
  4. ^ Tender News Bus Talk issue 21 April 2013 page 5
  5. ^ London bus contract changes announced Coach & Bus Week issue 1420 19 November 2019 page 10
  6. ^ More electric double-deckers Buses issue 778 January 2020 page 20
  7. ^ Hill, Jolene (2008-09-12). ""Shambolic" bus service is slammed by drivers and passengers". This is Croydon. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  8. ^ "Controversy over Croydon bus route continues". This is Croydon. 2008-09-01. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  9. ^ Angry bus passengers demand action on troubled 466 route This is Surrey Today
  10. ^ Victory for 466 bus campaigners Croydon Advertiser
  11. ^ Route 466 Map Transport for London

External links edit

  Media related to London Buses route 466 at Wikimedia Commons