Omsi 2 tour (576) LHD London bus 9 Hammersmith - Trafalgar Square @ Abellio Dennis Enviro 400

London Buses route 9 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Hammersmith bus station and Aldwych, it is operated by London United Route 9 has been called "London's oldest existing bus route".[1][2][3][4][5] The origins of the route go as far back as 1856.[6] It was introduced on 1 November 1908, when a previously un-numbered London General Omnibus Company route, formerly Road Car route L, operating daily between Shoreditch Church and Hammersmith with a Sunday extension to Kew Green via Kew Bridge commenced operation. From 10 December 1908, it was withdrawn between Turnham Green and Kew, but extended in the other direction to Leyton (Bakers Arms), now running daily Turnham Green Church - Shoreditch Church, with a Monday - Saturday extension to Leyton via Hackney Road, Mare Street, Clapton and Lea Bridge Road; being further extended to Snaresbrook via Whipps Cross and Snaresbrook Road on 10 June 1909. The Sunday 9 extension was finally removed when route 23 gained a Sunday service in the late 1960s, although a token service was maintained as far as Aldgate until 14:00 on Sundays to serve the local markets, the afternoon service being curtailed at Aldwych. The Saturday service was also curtailed to Aldwych a few years later, but the Sunday service was renumbered 9A to avoid the unusual bifurcation, being further diverted via Monument and Tower Hill instead of Bank and Leadenhall Street. This variation had been dropped completely by 1990, and the route thus then ran daily from Mortlake to Aldwych with a Monday to Friday extension to Liverpool Street. The whole route was cut back to Aldwych on 18 July 1992, the replacement to Liverpool Street being new route 23.[7] Meanwhile, problems with Hammersmith Bridge led to the imposition of a severe weight restriction. Double deck buses were thus barred, which created a particular problem for route 9 which would have been totally unsuitable for the small Dennis Darts that were introduced on the other routes crossing the bridge. Route 9 was thus curtailed to Hammersmith from early 1992, new route 9A taking over the short section to Mortlake with an overlap as far as Kensington. On Sundays, however, route 9 continued to run right through and this pattern was adopted in the evenings also from the end of 1993. In 1997 however, route 9 routing was standardised as Hammersmith to Aldwych daily, while 9A was replaced by route 209 Hammersmith to Mortlake. Traditionally route 9 had been the main route of the little garage at Mortlake, which was its terminus, with some assistance from Dalston, while Riverside and Barking garages ran on the extended Sunday service. The closure of both Mortlake and Riverside resulted in the allocation settling down at Shepherd's Bush for some years. Route 9A was operated from a new base within the London Underground depot at White City, known as Wood Lane but which has since closed again, its allocation absorbed by Shepherd's Bush. In the lead up to the introduction of the London congestion charge in February 2003, services levels were increased with MCW Metrobuses drafted in to supplement the AEC Routemasters. On 4 September 2004, crewed operation finished with the AEC Routemasters replaced by East Lancs Myllennium Vyking bodied Volvo B7TL and the route transferred to Stamford Brook garage, in an economy swap with route 49. In 2014, the route briefly operated a New Routemaster painted in red and silver livery to promote the Year of the Bus.[9][10] To mark the First World War centenary, the London Transport Museum restored one of only four surviving LGOC B-type buses. The bus being restored used to run on route 9 between Barnes and Liverpool Street from 1914. The restoration cost £250,000, with more than half being spent sourcing original parts.[11][12] Current route Route 9 operates via these primary locations:[14] Hammersmith bus station London Buses for Hammersmith tube stationsLondon Underground Hammersmith Broadway Brook Green West Kensington North End Road Kensington Olympia station London Underground London Overground National Rail Kensington High Street High Street Kensington station London Underground Kensington Palace Royal Albert Hall Knightsbridge station London Underground Hyde Park Corner station London Underground Mayfair Old Park Lane Green Park station London Underground Piccadilly St James's Pall Mall St James's Palace Trafalgar Square Charing Cross station London Underground National Rail Strand Covent Gardens Southampton Street Aldwych Drury Lane/Somerset House