Omsi 2 bus tour (583) London Line 11 Charing Cross Station - Fulham Broadway @ Arriva Volvo B7TL

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• published: 22 Nov 2015
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London Buses route 11 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Fulham Broadway and Liverpool Street bus station, it is operated by London General. Route 11 was introduced by the London General Omnibus Company in August 1906, and is amongst the oldest routes to have operated continuously in London, although its route has changed on several occasions.[1] It was the first route operated by London Road-Car Co Ltd, running from Victoria to Hammersmith via Chelsea.[2] From 1916, LGOC B-type buses allocated to Old Kent Road garage were used until 1924, when it was allocated to Kingston garage.[3] On 5 August 1922, Leyland LB (London Bus) type buses were introduced on route 11 by Arthur George Partridge and Christopher Dodson Ltd with chocolate livery and the fleet name "Express".[4][5][6][7][8][9] The first AEC NS-Type buses entered service on route 11 in May 1923.[10] On 5 September 1932, Q1 buses were used on this route which operated from Liverpool Street to Shepherd's Bush.[11][12][13] In May 1949, Leyland Titan RTW buses were introduced on route 11.[14] AEC Regent III RT buses were in service on route 11 in the 1950s.[15] On 12 June 1959, the fourth AEC Routemaster to in passenger service (RM14), entered service on route 11 from Riverside garage.[16] The route starts at Fulham Broadway and operates via the West End and some of London's most famous landmarks to Liverpool Street bus station. The journey from the top deck is a cheap means of sightseeing in London.[17] It previously ran to Hammersmith until being replaced west of Fulham Broadway on 17 July 1993 by route 211. In October 1996, London General buses operating on route 11 from its Waterloo garage switched to City Diesel.[18] On 4 June 2002, Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, the Metropolitan Police flagged down a Number 11 bus and used it as temporary transport for twenty-three peaceful anti-royalty demonstrators whom they had arrested after the demonstration, most of them in a nearby pub. The bus was used to take the protestors to various police stations for questioning. The protesters sued the police, and the Met settled out of court with an apology, an admission of unlawful detention, and a payment of £3,500 to each protester.[19] It has been operated by London General since the privatisation of London bus services. It was operated out of Waterloo garage until June 2002, when the AEC Routemasters were transferred to Stockwell garage to make way for the Red Arrow Mercedes-Benz Citaro articulateds. On 1 November 2003, route 11 was converted to one man operation with the AEC Routemasters replaced by Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs. The route has a cameo appearance in the 2005 film The Da Vinci Code, where the protagonists take a number 11 bus from near Temple Church to get to "Chelsea Library", though they get off at Westminster Abbey; this is the same route the bus takes in real life. London General has successfully retained route 11 with new contracts starting on 30 October 2010 and 31 October 2015. New Routemasters were introduced on 21 September 2013. The rear platform remains open from Monday to Friday between 06:20 and 18:40, on Saturday between 07:00 and 18:00 and on Sunday between 08:30 and 18:00 when it is staffed by a customer assistant. Current route Route 11 operates via these primary locations:[24] Fulham Broadway station London Underground King's Road Sloane Square station London Underground Victoria Coach Station Bus interchange Victoria bus station London Buses for Victoria station London Underground National Rail St James's Park station London Underground Westminster station London Underground Trafalgar Square Charing Cross station London Underground National Rail Aldwych City Thameslink station National Rail St Paul's Cathedral Mansion House station London Underground Bank station London Underground Docklands Light Railway Liverpool Street bus station London Buses for Liverpool Street station London Underground National Rail The bus route passes many tourist attractions including:[25] Westminster Cathedral Westminster Abbey Methodist Central Hall Westminster St Margaret's, Westminster Churchill War Rooms The Cenotaph Downing Street entrance Banqueting House Horse Guards Parade Admiralty House Trafalgar Square Royal Courts of Justice Prince Henry's Room St Dunstan-in-the-West St Bride's Church St Martin, Ludgate St Paul's Cathedral St Mary Aldermary Mansion House Bank of England It also goes near the Royal Exchange, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Royal Courts of Justice, St Clement Danes, Aldwych tube station, High Commission of Australia, Savoy Hotel, Nelson's Column, Admiralty Arch, Big Ben, Palace of Westminster and New Scotland Yard.[26] The Daily Telegraph called the route one of the "best routes for sightseeing on a shoestring".