London Buses route 26 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between St Mary of Eton and Victoria station, it is operated by Stagecoach London subsidiary East London.
History
On 18 July 1992, route 26 was introduced to replace the withdrawn section of route 6 between Hackney Wick and Aldwych, running between Hackney Wick and Waterloo station from Bow garage using Leyland Titans. The Titans were replaced by a new fleet of 38 Alexander RL-bodied Volvo Olympians in late 1997.
Upon being re-tendered, on 25 June 2011 the route passed to First London's Lea Interchange garage with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B9TLs.Bus tender results Route 26/N26 Transport for London 22 May 2010
On 22 June 2013, route 26 was included in the sale of First London's Lea Interchange garage to Tower Transit.First quits London bus business Bus & Coach Professional 9 April 2013Date set for Aussie takeover of London bus routes Australasian Bus & Coach 14 June 2013 When next tendered, it was awarded to CT Plus with the new contract commencing on 27 February 2016.Bus tender results Route 26/N26 Transport for London 7 October 2015Tender News Bus Talk issue 37 December 2015 page 11HCT orders 38 ADL buses RouteOne 24 May 2016 HCT Group 2 March 2016 It is operated out of Ash Grove garage.Our routes CT Group
On 27 August 2022, route 26 was included in the sale of HCT Group's ‘red bus’ operations to Stagecoach London. CT Group
On 23 November 2022, it was announced that a proposed rerouting of route 26 at Aldwych to serve Victoria instead of Waterloo would be going ahead following a consultation; it was implemented on 29 April 2023.
Bomb incident
On 21 July 2005, would-be bomber Muktar Said Ibrahim attempted to explode a device contained in his rucksack on a number 26 bus on Hackney Road in Haggerston. A small explosion on the top deck caused the vehicle's windows to explode, but the device did not detonate as intended and there was no significant damage. The vehicle, operated by Stagecoach London, was stopped and a 200-yard safety cordon established while the bomb was defused.Windows Blown Out Of Number 26 Bus Sky News 21 July 2005
Ibrahim left the bus following the failed attack, but was later caught. He and five other men were taken to court in January 2007, and his DNA was found on a battery used in the bomb.Bus bomb bid' CCTV shown to jury BBC News 29 January 2007 He was convicted in July 2007 and sentenced to life imprisonment.Four 21/7 bomb plotters get life BBC News 11 July 2007
Current route Route 26 operates via these primary locations:Route 26 Map Transport for London St Mary of Eton South Hackney Cambridge Heath station Hoxton station Shoreditch High Street station Liverpool Street station Bank station Mansion House station City Thameslink station Aldwych Charing Cross station Trafalgar Square Westminster station St James's Park station Victoria station
References
External links
Timetable