London Buses route K4
Encyclopedia
London Buses route K4 is a Transport for London
contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.
, first introduced in 1987, although route K4 was not part of the original network. The service was introduced in 1990, to provide a link to Kingston
from the new Mansfield Park Estate, it used small MCW Metrorider
s.
Route 71 ran on a partly parallel route, it needed double-deckers to cope with capacity. However, it ran via a slightly longer route than the K4 and so the minibuses on the K4 began to become crowded. To avoid this, in 1993, a route change occurred, as part of the K-prefix network changes. Route K1
swapped with route 71 between Surbiton
and Kingston, while the K4 swapped its direct route with route K3
. These changes made route 71 the quickest route into Kingston, reversing the fortunes of the K4, which from then only really carries passengers from Mansfield Park Estate and Villiers Avenue.
In November 2000 the route was amended at both ends. At Mansfield Park Estate the loop working was extended to serve Winey Park, a new housing estate. At the other end of the route, buses started to run to Kingston Hospital
. The extension became too much for the K4's allocation of 3 buses for its PVR, and so when the K-prefix routes came up for re-tender in 2001, it was proposed to be withdrawn. The replacement would be provided by extending route K2
at both ends. Part of the plan was dropped, because journey times would be extended and the larger buses used on route K2 wouldn't fit round the Mansfield Estate section of route K4, which used 8.8m buses, and 8.8m buses wouldn't be able to cope with demand on route K2. The extension of route K2 to Kingston Hospital went ahead, with route K4 being withdrawn on that section. At the same time, the route around Mansfield Estate amended to provide a proper bus stand in Ripon Gardens, with buses serving Winey Park bi-directionally. As part of the new tender, the route also gained an hourly evening service (still remaining half hourly during the day) and new low-floor Dennis Dart SLF
/Plaxton Pointer
2s.
Soon later, numerous passenger requests were received for the extension to Kingston Hospital to be restored. One of the proposals was initially linked with an idea to extend the route to Epsom and replace route 467. As last time, the proposals were scrapped for a number of reasons. Funding from Surrey
Council for the increased level of service that would have been provided over route 467, difficulty of finding a suitable route, worries of overcrowded small buses on schools loadings, and making the route too long and therefore unreliable. After some additional concerns about where the route would stand at the hospital the extension went ahead, using a fourth bus from 19 March 2005. The timetable was designed so that buses could share the stand with Travel Surrey
s route 514.
Since its introduction, route K4 has been operated by companies related to Transdev London
. At first it was run by Westlink, which was purchased by London United in the 1990s, and the service was run by London United themselves. It is now run by their direct successor, Transdev London. Westlink used a variety of minibuses, predominately MCW Metrorider
s. When London United took over, the service was run by Plaxton Pointer
1 bodied Dennis Dart
s. Low floor vehicles were introduced following the new contract in 2001, with a batch of Dennis Dart SLF
/Plaxton Pointer
2s introduced to the service.
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.
History
Route K4 is part of the K-prefix network of services run around Kingston upon ThamesKingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
, first introduced in 1987, although route K4 was not part of the original network. The service was introduced in 1990, to provide a link to Kingston
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
from the new Mansfield Park Estate, it used small MCW Metrorider
MCW Metrorider
The MCW Metrorider, launched by MCW at the 1986 Motor Show, was a midibus designed built by Metro Cammell Weymann between 1986 and 1989. Constructed in two lengths, 7.0 m and 8.4 m, the Metrorider was an integral bus, marking it out from its van-based rivals of the time.It was the second...
s.
Route 71 ran on a partly parallel route, it needed double-deckers to cope with capacity. However, it ran via a slightly longer route than the K4 and so the minibuses on the K4 began to become crowded. To avoid this, in 1993, a route change occurred, as part of the K-prefix network changes. Route K1
London Buses route K1
London Buses route K1 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:...
swapped with route 71 between Surbiton
Surbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
and Kingston, while the K4 swapped its direct route with route K3
London Buses route K3
London Buses route K3 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:...
. These changes made route 71 the quickest route into Kingston, reversing the fortunes of the K4, which from then only really carries passengers from Mansfield Park Estate and Villiers Avenue.
In November 2000 the route was amended at both ends. At Mansfield Park Estate the loop working was extended to serve Winey Park, a new housing estate. At the other end of the route, buses started to run to Kingston Hospital
Kingston Hospital
Kingston Hospital is an acute NHS hospital in Kingston upon Thames, South West London. It has an Accident & Emergency Unit, a popular midwife-led Maternity unit, and an STD clinic known as the Wolverton Centre...
. The extension became too much for the K4's allocation of 3 buses for its PVR, and so when the K-prefix routes came up for re-tender in 2001, it was proposed to be withdrawn. The replacement would be provided by extending route K2
London Buses route K2
London Buses route K2 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:...
at both ends. Part of the plan was dropped, because journey times would be extended and the larger buses used on route K2 wouldn't fit round the Mansfield Estate section of route K4, which used 8.8m buses, and 8.8m buses wouldn't be able to cope with demand on route K2. The extension of route K2 to Kingston Hospital went ahead, with route K4 being withdrawn on that section. At the same time, the route around Mansfield Estate amended to provide a proper bus stand in Ripon Gardens, with buses serving Winey Park bi-directionally. As part of the new tender, the route also gained an hourly evening service (still remaining half hourly during the day) and new low-floor Dennis Dart SLF
Dennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
/Plaxton Pointer
Plaxton Pointer
The Plaxton Pointer is a successful single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Plaxton and latterly built by Alexander Dennis.With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m...
2s.
Soon later, numerous passenger requests were received for the extension to Kingston Hospital to be restored. One of the proposals was initially linked with an idea to extend the route to Epsom and replace route 467. As last time, the proposals were scrapped for a number of reasons. Funding from Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
Council for the increased level of service that would have been provided over route 467, difficulty of finding a suitable route, worries of overcrowded small buses on schools loadings, and making the route too long and therefore unreliable. After some additional concerns about where the route would stand at the hospital the extension went ahead, using a fourth bus from 19 March 2005. The timetable was designed so that buses could share the stand with Travel Surrey
Travel Surrey
Travel Surrey was a bus operator in Surrey which was originally a subsidiary of the National Express Group. It was given its own brand name from 1 September 2007. In May 2009, the company, along with Travel London, was sold to NedRailways...
s route 514.
Since its introduction, route K4 has been operated by companies related to Transdev London
Transdev London
London United is one of many operators of London Buses and is owned by the RATP Group, an international public transport operator owned by the government of France...
. At first it was run by Westlink, which was purchased by London United in the 1990s, and the service was run by London United themselves. It is now run by their direct successor, Transdev London. Westlink used a variety of minibuses, predominately MCW Metrorider
MCW Metrorider
The MCW Metrorider, launched by MCW at the 1986 Motor Show, was a midibus designed built by Metro Cammell Weymann between 1986 and 1989. Constructed in two lengths, 7.0 m and 8.4 m, the Metrorider was an integral bus, marking it out from its van-based rivals of the time.It was the second...
s. When London United took over, the service was run by Plaxton Pointer
Plaxton Pointer
The Plaxton Pointer is a successful single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Plaxton and latterly built by Alexander Dennis.With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m...
1 bodied Dennis Dart
Dennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
s. Low floor vehicles were introduced following the new contract in 2001, with a batch of Dennis Dart SLF
Dennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
/Plaxton Pointer
Plaxton Pointer
The Plaxton Pointer is a successful single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Plaxton and latterly built by Alexander Dennis.With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m...
2s introduced to the service.
Current route
- Mansfield Park Estate Ripon Gardens
- Mansfield Park Estate King's Centre
- Winey Park Merritt Gardens
- HookHook, LondonHook is a place in south west London, England. It forms part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and is located 13.5 miles south west of Charing Cross....
Library - HookHook, LondonHook is a place in south west London, England. It forms part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and is located 13.5 miles south west of Charing Cross....
Cap in Hand - Surbiton StationSurbiton railway stationSurbiton railway station is a National Rail station in Surbiton, south west London, in the Kingston upon Thames. The station is managed and served by South West Trains, and is in Travelcard Zone 6...
Victoria Road - SurbitonSurbitonSurbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
Villiers Avenue - KingstonKingston upon ThamesKingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
Eden Street - KingstonKingston upon ThamesKingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
Cromwell Road Bus Station - Kingston HospitalKingston HospitalKingston Hospital is an acute NHS hospital in Kingston upon Thames, South West London. It has an Accident & Emergency Unit, a popular midwife-led Maternity unit, and an STD clinic known as the Wolverton Centre...
See also
- List of bus routes in London
- London United
- London Buses route K1London Buses route K1London Buses route K1 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:...
- London Buses route K2London Buses route K2London Buses route K2 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:...
- London Buses route K3London Buses route K3London Buses route K3 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:...