London Buses route 266
| 266 | |
|---|---|
| 300px | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | Tower Transit |
| Garage | Atlas Road (AS) |
| Vehicle | Volvo B9TL 10.4m / Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 25 |
| Night-time | 24-hour service |
| Route | |
| Start | Hammersmith bus station |
| Via | Ravenscourt Park Acton North Acton Willesden Junction station Harlesden Willesden Cricklewood Staples Corner |
| End | Brent Cross bus station |
| Length | 10 miles (16 km) |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
| Frequency | About every 8-20 minutes |
| Journey time | 49-98 minutes |
| Operates | 24-hour service |
London Buses route 266 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Hammersmith and Brent Cross bus stations, it is operated by Tower Transit.
History
Route 266 commenced operating on 3 January 1962 between Edgware and Hammersmith bus stations via Burnt Oak, Colindale, Cricklewood, Willesden, Harlesden and Acton as a replacement for trolleybus route 666 with AEC Routemasters.
On 13 June 1970, it was withdrawn between Edgware and Colindale. From 31 January 1976, weekday daytime services were diverted to Brent Cross bus station. On 28 October 1978, peak hour services were extended to Mill Hill Broadway station.
On 25 April 1981, route 266 was withdrawn between Staples Corner and Mill Hill Broadway station with most services diverted to Brent Cross bus station. On 2 November 1985, it was converted to one man operation with MCW Metrobuses. From 14 October 1995, all services were extended to Brent Cross, except for late evening services.
In late 1998 low-floor Dennis Trident 2s entered service. Route 266 gained a night service (N266) in 2001 but only as far as Cricklewood garage, on 26 July 2003 this was extended to Brent Cross, and route 266 became a 24-hour service.
On 22 June 2013, route 266 was included in the sale of First London's Atlas Road garage to Tower Transit.[1][2]
The route featured in an episode of Mr. Bean Rides Again.
Tender History
Upon being re-tendered in 2004, the route was retained by Metroline from May 2005.[3]
Upon being re-tendered in 2011, the route was awarded to First London from 19 May 2012.
Current route
Route 266 operates via these primary locations:[4]
- Hammersmith bus station
for Hammersmith stations 
- Acton Vale
- Acton High Street
- Acton Mainline station
- North Acton station
- Willesden Junction station
- Harlesden Jubilee Clock
- Willesden Garage
- Willesden Green station
- Cricklewood Broadway
- Cricklewood Garage
- Staples Corner
- Brent Cross bus station
References
- ↑ First quits London bus business Bus & Coach Professional 9 April 2013
- ↑ Date set for Aussie takeover of London bus routes Australasian Bus & Coach 14 June 2013
- ↑ Bus tender results Route 266/N266 Transport for London 23 September 2004
- ↑ Route 266 Map Transport for London
External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons- London Bus Routes gallery
- Timetable
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