London Buses Route 53 - History

History

Route 53 dates back to 1952. It traditionally ran from Plumstead Common to West Hampstead, later Camden Town, and until 2003 Oxford Circus. It was cut back to Whitehall and reduced in frequency when London Buses route 453 began on 15 February 2003.

The route is a major south east London trunk route and is very long. At one point, some journeys continued on to Erith. From the 1980s to 2001 there was a route X53 that had two eastern termini, Thamesmead and Erith, and ran to Plumstead, Woolwich and Blackheath, from where it was fast to Elephant and Castle then limited stops from that point onwards.

Route 53, which is work from Plumstead garage, is a frequent route. Prior to the 2003 changes it required over 40 buses. In 1995 52 new Volvo Olympian double-deckers were bought for the route by then-operator Stagecoach London at a cost of £5.5 million. Route 185 parallels part of the 53; following the collapse of London Easylink in August 2002, it was left with a limited service provided by a number of operators, and extra journeys on the 53 were operated between Westminster and New Cross Gate to relieve overcrowding.

The service is the only Transport for London contracted route to serve the section of the A2 road through Blackheath Hill. In April 2003 subsidence in a chalk mine beneath the road led to the road being closed and the route being diverted via Lewisham.

In November 2008 a bus travelling on the route was involved in a collision with a car in Woolwich. There were no serious injuries. Passengers stated that the bus driver had braked sharply to avoid a more serious collision, and he was praised by a spokesman for bus operator Selkent.