This series of reports on “Places to view London buses” is not far from completion but to make it ‘complete’ there are several more destinations that I’d like to include, one of which is Golders Green.
GOLDERS GREENOPERATIONAL DETAILS MON-FRI DAYTIME courtesy of
www.londonbusroutes.net/garages.htmRoute / Operator / Garage / PVR / Frequency / Routing
13 / RATP / X / 22 / 9.5 / North Finchley - Finchley - Golders Green - Finchley Road - Baker Street - Marble Arch - Victoria
83 / Metroline / ON / 21 / 8 / Alperton - Wembley - Kingsbury Green - West Hendon - Hendon - Golders Green
102 / Arriva / AD / 26 / 8 / Edmonton - Palmers Green - Muswell Hill - East Finchley - Golders Green - North Cricklewood - Brent Cross
139 / Metroline / W / 23 / 8 / Golders Green - West Hampstead - St John's Wood - Baker Street - Oxford Circus - Trafalgar Square - Aldwych - Waterloo
183 / RATP / SO / 19 / 10 / Pinner - North Harrow - Harrow - Kenton - Kingsbury - West Hendon - Hendon - Golders Green
210 / Metroline / W / 14 / 10 / Brent Cross - Brent Cross Station - Golders Green - Hampstead Heath - Archway - Hornsey Rise - Finsbury Park
226 / RATP / BT / 15 / 13 / Ealing - Eaton Rise - Birkdale Road - Coronation Road - Park Royal - Harlesden - Willesden Garage - Dudden Hill - Cricklewood - Pennine Drive - Golders Green
240 / Metroline / EW / 8 / 15 / Edgware - Mill Hill - Mill Hill East - Holders Hill - Hendon - Golders Green
245 / Metroline / PV / 17 / 10 / Alperton - Sudbury - North Wembley - Neasden - Cricklewood - Golders Green
260 / Metroline / AC / 17 / 13 / Golders Green - Cricklewood - Willesden - Harlesden - Park Royal - North Acton - Old Oak Road - Shepherd's Bush - White City
268 / Metroline/ W / 6 / 15 / Golders Green - Hampstead - Finchley Road O2 Centre
328 / Metroline / W 19 / 10 / Golders Green - West Hampstead - Kilburn - Westbourne Park - Notting Hill Gate - Kensington - Earl's Court - Chelsea
460 / Metroline / AC / 10 / 12 / North Finchley - Finchley - Golders Green - Cricklewood - Willesden
H2 / Metroline / W / 3 / 12 / Hampstead Garden Suburb (circular) - Golders Green
H3 / Metroline / W / 1 / 60 / Hilltop - East End Road - East Finchley Station - The Bishops Avenue - Hampstead Way - Golders Green
15 Routes / 3 Operators / 8 Garages / Total PVR = 221 / Bus Departures per hour = 99
WHAT YOU’LL SEE
Of the 15 routes, 11 are terminators which use
three separate departure points:
1) Golders Green Station Forecourt (‘Bus Station’)
The north-south 139 is operated by Metroline / Cricklewood with a 100% hybrid operation (TEH/VWH solely operating the route), with a southern termination point at Waterloo, it’s the only Golders Green route to venture south of the river. Meanwhile and as you’re aware, RATP operated 183 is an east-west trunk route that not so long ago was the preserve of Scanias but is now 100% EV with BYD / Alexander Dennis Enviro 40EV Citys operating the route which conveniently passes its home garage SO on the way to Pinner. Back to Metroline and 83 (VW/VWH) is another very busy route linking Golders Green with Hendon Central and Wembley Central and which terminates at Alperton Sainsbury’s that’s adjacent to the ‘new’ ON at Athlon Road which is used to turn the 83. It’s rare to see two fairly longish routes with the same origin/destination (unless you're at North Greenwich or Bexleyheath) but that’s the case of the 83 and 245 however the 245 serves Cricklewood / North Wembley / Wembley Park with VWHs and odd stray VW. I suspect Metroline would run the 245 from ON if there was space but from memory, and similar to the 83 the 245 turns in ON (?).
Yet another Metroline DD operating from GG, but with a comparatively low 15 minute frequency, the 240 is operated by TE from EW but an EV or two can be seen on the route most days. The 328 is pretty-much north-south and for some reason the terminating point of Chelsea feels a long way from Golders Green; the route is run from W with hybrid VWH20** operating the route. AC VWH operate the 260 that operates to Shepherd’s Bush / White City via Cricklewood, Harlesden and Central Middx Hospital. Not so long ago, the 226 was operated by Metroline but now its RATP with BYD SD operating the route from BT.
2) North End Road
Cricklewood operated with Enviro 200 ‘DE’, the 268 is an anomaly as it drops off pax at stop ‘B’ on the station forecourt (adjacent to the forecourt entry) but picks up its first pax at Bus Stop ‘GJ’ on North End Road just past the Hippodrome. It’s just a one-two minute walk from the Station Forecourt and the bus stop (that’s shared with the through-route 210) is still named ‘Golders Green Station’. The 268 serves ‘niceish’ areas i.e. Jack Straw’s Castle by Hampstead Heath / Hampstead / Belsize Park / Swiss Cottage before terminating just off the Finchley Road besides O2 Centre & Sainsbury’s.
3) Finchley Road
Just around the corner on Finchley Road is a ‘Buses Only” ‘In-and-out” and is the start/end point for the H2/H3 routes. The routes are operated by Metroline from Cricklewood with six 19-seater Optare Solos (OS2499-2504). The H2 carried 348k pax last year, and its primary function is to link Golders Green Station with Hampstead Garden Suburb. Many of the H2 bus stops are ‘uniquely served by the H2’ and the Garden Suburb has an interesting history. It was founded by Henrietta Barnett (who has a school named after her) who set up a trust in the early 1900s to purchase 243 acres of land from Eton College. The scheme’s aims were that the area should:
• Cater for all classes of people and all income groups.
• There should be a low housing density.
• Roads should be wide and tree-lined.
• Houses should be separated by hedges, not walls.
• Woods and public gardens should be free to all.
• It should be quiet, with no church bells.
There’s no industry, no pubs and few shops (there are some in Market Place – the principal stop on the H2 away from Golders Green) and it ‘feels’ very different to anywhere else in London.
The H3 operates just seven round trips Mon-Sat and does serve two Northern Line stations (East Finchley is the other). At the furthest point, it has a hesitation point at Hilltop before returning to GG. Around a third of the route is taken up with an ‘end2end’ of The Bishop’s Avenue, one of the most exclusive and expensive roads in the UK. From travelling on the routes, and unscientific on my part there appears to be two key demographics using these routes: a) wealthy pensioners who live on the routes using (effectively community) buses for shopping / visits to the bank / doctors etc. b) domestic helpers who work in these houses and thinking about it there’s probably a couple more: c) commuters living on the route who travel by Northern Line to Central London d) school-children. The H3 carried just 21k pax last year with only the 389/399 carrying fewer.
The Through Routes
Most pertinent to start with the Metroline operated 210 as reported widely on the forum the Mayor of London has pledged to extend the route to link Golders Green with Stamford Hill. Often quoted as one of London’s prettiest routes due to the Hampstead Heath section at the western end the route terminates at Bent Cross Shopping Centre alongside the 102 that’s Arriva’s sole route here. The route is almost 100% hybrid HV operated although as recently as 23rd April StreetDeck SW5 managed 10 hours on the 102. Meanwhile on the 13, it’s EvoSeti city with former Tower Transit, now RATP VMHs operating the route south to Victoria. Finally, the 460 similar to the 13 terminates at nearby North Finchley and operates south terminating at Metroline’s AC garage which is handy as that’s where the VWHs operating the route are based.
IN CONCLUSIONThe Northern Line has more bus stations than any other LU line (GG, Edgware, Morden and don’t forget London Bridge) and Golders Green is a good (and rare) UK example of integrated transportation. It’s a very good and busy location with Metroline the dominant player with over 60% of the PVR. I like the thought that the Station Forecourt and its use have barely changed in the best part of 100 years. One thing I should have mentioned is that it’s a very busy location for National Express with direct buses to Milton Keynes / Brum / Salford / Liverpool / Leeds etc. I’m used to seeing lots of airline pax with carry-on / suitcases and wrong assumed they were travelling ex LTN – that’s incorrect it’s STN.