London Buses route 614
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|---|---|
| Management | |
| Operated by | Uno |
| Garage | Hatfield |
| Vehicle | Scania Omnidekka |
| Route | |
| Start | Queensbury |
| Via | Edgware Mill Hill Barnet Gate Arkley Barnet |
| End | Hatfield |
| Length | 21 miles (34 km) |
| Service | |
| Level | Monday to Saturday (6:40am until 10:15pm northbound (Mon-Fri), 9am to 7pm northbound (sat)) (6:15am until 9:08pm southbound (Mon-Fri), 8am to 6pm southbound (sat)) |
| Frequency | About every 30 minutes (Mon-Fri), 60 mins (Sat) |
| Journey time | 53-70 minutes |
| Night | None |
| Adult single fares | |
| Cash | £1.50 |
| Oyster | 80p (£1 Mon-Fri 7-9.30am) |
| Transport for London | |
London Buses route 614 is a Transport for London bus route that runs between Queensbury in north London and Hatfield in Hertfordshire. Despite this extremity, oyster cards are only accepted up until Barnet but Oyster pay-as-you-go is not allowed on the service.
This service is currently under contract to Uno.
Contents |
[edit] History
There are very few commercial local bus services left in London (none wholly within London, apart from sightseeing tours etc.), and most of those that remain are operated under London Service Permits which means they are not part of the London Bus network, with higher fares, passes not valid etc. One that seems to buck the trend however is the 614, which is going from strength to strength. Although it is a cross-border route and can build its customer base on longer-distance travellers to places such at Hatfield, it does have quite a substantial London section providing some unique "round the corner" links. In particular it provides a direct service between Barnet and Edgware.
Like most buses run by Uno the 614 started off as a feeder service for the University of Hertfordshire campuses, although all-day operation came at quite an early stage. Full Monday to Friday operation commenced with the 2001-2002 timetable; even now the tradition of an annual timetable change in the summer (usually after the August bank holiday) has been maintained. A regular hourly service is now provided although the projection of a couple of peak journeys through to Harrow has ceased. The main Monday to Friday daytime service is now half hourly and, unusually for Uno, a Saturday service was added in 2005.
Loadings on the 614 evidently justify double deckers, in what had previously been an all-single deck fleet. The first vehicles appeared in 2003 with two DAFS, one bodied by each of the two least common makes Optare and East Lancs. The PVR increase in 2005 necessitated additional vehicles however, and in September 2005 three Scania N94UD/East Lancs OmniDekka arrived, painted in a rather controversial pink and purple livery that replaced the previous white and black.
Although not unique in London two features are of note: they are single door; combined with the layout of the Scania, this enables no less than 80 passengers to be seated – it is quite a few years since the last buses with that number of seats were delivered for use in London.
Secondly, they are fitted with LED destination displays – although now more-or-less standard outside London, TfL has persisted with traditional roller blinds, which it says are clearer. The font may be clearer, but they are virtually unreadable at night owing to the poor blind back-lighting arrangements in most modern buses.
[edit] Route
[edit] Route departing Queensbury
Non-stop via A1(M)
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[edit] Route departing Hatfield
Non-stop via A1(M)
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